Industry

Rupee Appreciates Further Against US Dollar 27th Day in a Row

The Pakistani rupee appreciated further against the US Dollar to extend its win streak to 27 days today after opening trade at 277 in the interbank market.

At 11:30 PM, it was bullish, treading the 276-278 level against the greenback.

Later, the interbank rate eased to the 277 level between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM before anchoring trends for the remainder of the day.

In the last 24 sessions, the PKR has gained Rs. 29.43 against the greenback.

Open market rates across multiple currency counters stood in the 276-278 range today. Since September 4, the open market rate has recovered massively by roughly Rs. 60 against the greenback.

At close, the PKR appreciated by 0.35 percent to close at 277.62 after gaining 96 paisas against the dollar today.

The rupee continued its good run 27th day in a row today. The gap between interbank and open market rates massively shrunk by roughly Rs. 52 last month, and already by ~Rs. 8 in October. The rates have gone down to as low as 276 and have since continued brief spikes to 278 today.

Pertinently, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 59 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 106 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has gained over 90 paisas against the dollar.

Today’s gains come after State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad today said while speaking to investors in Marrakech, Morocco that the stabilization measures adopted by the central bank have started yielding results. He said that inflation has come down to 31.4 percent in September 2023 after peaking at 38.0 percent in May 2023 and is expected to continue its downward trajectory over the coming months, whereas the external account has improved considerably and foreign exchange buffers are being built up.

Going forward, the Stand-By arrangement with the IMF is expected to support the ongoing policy efforts to stabilize the economy, he added.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Pakistan’s external financing needs to stay large while pressures on exchange rates and international reserves remain significant. Traders said the market snubbed this forecast keeping in tandem with positive trends that started last month.

The PKR was green against all of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained 25 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and 26 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED).

Moreover, it gained Rs. 1.76 against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), Rs. 2.85 against the Euro (EUR), Rs. 2.92 against the Australian Dollar (AUD), and Rs. 3.43 against the British Pound (GBP) in today’s interbank currency market.

Source: Pro Pakistani