Islamabad: For the tenth consecutive session, the Pakistani rupee continued its winning streak against the US dollar and gained Rs 1.5 in the inter-bank on Monday.
The local currency kicked off the new week on a positive note, and at around 10:30 am, the rupee was even quoted at 213.01.
However, today’s the end of the session, the local currency appreciated by 0.71pc to end at Rs 213.98 against the greenback.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/DS1eavzpQe pic.twitter.com/QeeEWXs1x8
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 15, 2022
During last week, according to SBP’s details, the rupee appreciated by 3.9pc and gained Rs 8.5 in the inter-bank to close at Rs 215.49 against the US dollar.
The positivity in the market and appreciation against the greenback is due to clarity on the deal between Pakistan, and the IMF, whose executive board will meet later in August.
Last week, on Friday, Pakistan also received the Letter of Intent (LOI) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the last obstacle before the Fund releases two tranches worth $1.17 billion under a stalled loan facility.
It is expected that Pakistan will sign the LOI and send it back to the IMF today, as Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said in an interview.
The letter will be jointly signed by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Acting State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Murtaza Syed.
The development came weeks after the Fund and Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement in mid-July to complete the combined 7th and 8th reviews of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an increased size of $7 billion.
The timing of the LOI could not be any more appropriate when Pakistan’s reserves fell to an alarming level of a three-year low of $7.8 billion.
