The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) persisted against the US Dollar (USD) and posted gains in the interbank market today. It gained 16 paisa’s against the greenback after hitting an intra-day high of Rs.174.40 against the USD during today’s open market session.
It appreciated by 0.09 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 174.71 today after gaining one paisa and closing at 174.87 in the interbank market on Thursday, 10 February.
Today’s gains come after the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, told the Senate on Friday that the government will begin using the Saudi oil facility on deferred payments from March 2022.
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It is pertinent to mention that the Financing Agreement worth $1.2 billion for the import of petroleum products was inked on 29 November 2021 between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Division (EAD).
On the flip side, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) weekly report that was released on Thursday revealed that the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves went up by $1.636 billion to $23.7 billion on 4 February as compared to $22.08 billion in the previous week. The SBP’s reserves soared by $1.609 billion to $17.336 billion as compared to $15.72 billion on 4 February.
According to the central bank, the increase in the reserve position is due to foreign inflows in the shape of $1.053 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and proceeds against the country’s international Sukuk issuance of $1 billion.
Discussing the local unit’s performance in a tweet earlier today, the former treasury head of Chase Manhattan Bank, Asad Rizvi, briefly remarked that Net Reserves with SBP increased by $1.61 billion to $17.34 billion after receiving cash from the IMF and issuing Sukuk Bonds. However, it is below the December 2021 level of $17.69 billion, and achieving the August 2021 level of $ 20.07 billion has become more difficult due to high imports.
The PKR reversed its bad run against other major currencies and reported gains in the interbank currency market today. It gained four paisas against both the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and the UAE Dirham (AED), 74 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 76 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), and Rs. 1.11 against the Australian Dollar (AUD).
