Connect with us

Business

Rupee puts major dent in dollar on renewed bailout bets

Published

2 years ago

on

  • Rupee gains as investors hope inflows to bolster dollar reserves.
  • Analysts see rupee resilient if funding ensured down the line.
  • Saudi confirmation for inflows strengthens IMF bailout hopes. 

Rupee on Thursday turned tables on the US dollar, strengthening by over a percent in inter-bank trade, as hopes for the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout flared up after Saudi Arabia confirmed to the multilateral lender of its financial assistance to Pakistan.

The local unit, in the interbank market, closed at 284.42 against the US dollar, up 1.2% or Rs3.43 from Wednesday’s close of 287.85, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). 

Analysts termed this recovery, which came a day after the rupee hit a new record low of 287.85 in the inter-bank market after a decline of Re.56 or 0.19%, as a positive development and see local currency resilient in days to come if inflows ensured.

The IMF has conveyed to Pakistan that it has received confirmation from Saudi Arabia on $2 billion in additional deposits, rekindling hopes of an early signing of the agreement.

Islamabad has been negotiating with the IMF since the end of January for the release of $1.1 billion from a $6.5 billion bailout package agreed upon in 2019. To unlock the funding, the government has cut back on subsidies, removed an artificial cap on the exchange rate, added taxes and raised fuel prices.

However, assurances from friendly nations for additional funds have delayed the agreement.

Sources confirmed to The News that the lender had informed the Pakistani authorities about the development and the Fund staff seemed largely satisfied with the latest confirmation. 

“Now all eyes are focused on the UAE for getting confirmation on another $1 billion deposit from them, which may pave the way for striking the staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF,” the sources said.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is likely to visit UAE on his way to the US where he is expected to hold talks on the release of funds.

Worldwide, the US dollar gained slightly on Thursday but hasn’t strayed too far from a recent two-month low as traders weighed how pivotal US jobs data coming out during a holiday weekend will impact Federal Reserve policy.

The list of soft economic data has added to fears of an impending recession in the world’s largest economy, putting a lid on risk appetite and sending traders in search of some safe-haven assets.

It should be noted that the foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP stand at a critical level of $4.2 billion — barely enough to cover one month’s imports.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Robust activity lets PSX climb above 115,000 level again.

Published

1 day ago

on

By

On Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) resumed its upward trend, crossing 115,000 points once more.

The PSX had strong action in the morning session, as the KSE-100 index increased by 1,000 points to 115,138.

The notoriously volatile PSX closed Thursday at 114,037 points, up 594 points.

DOLLAR DEPRECIES

Meanwhile, in the interbank market this morning, the US dollar fell 7 paisas to Rs278.65 against the Pakistani rupee.

Continue Reading

Business

SBP will announce monetary policy on January 27.

Published

1 day ago

on

By

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will release its monetary policy on Monday.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SBP will convene on the first day of the following week to make decisions on monetary policy.

The Monetary Policy decision will be announced by Governor SBP Jameel Ahmad at a news conference on the same day after the MPC meeting, according to an official release.

In December, the central bank reduced policy rates by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 percent.

“In November 2024, headline inflation fell to 4.9 percent year on year, meeting the MPC’s estimates. This decrease was mostly caused by the ongoing decline in food inflation and the phasing out of the impact of the gas tariff increase in November 2023,” SBP stated in an official release.

“However, the Committee noted that core inflation, at 9.7 percent, is proving to be sticky, while consumer and business inflation expectations remain volatile.” To that end, the Committee restated its previous assessment that inflation may remain volatile in the short term before stabilizing within the target range.

“At the same time, growth prospects have slightly improved, as evidenced by a recent increase in high-frequency indicators of economic activity.” Overall, the Committee concluded that its approach of gradual policy rate decreases is keeping inflationary and external account pressures under control while promoting long-term economic growth.

Continue Reading

Business

Finance Minister Meets With World Leaders at World Economic Forum in Davos

Published

2 days ago

on

By

During his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has met with officials of organisations and leaders of many nations.
Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor, Muhammad Younas, met with Mohammad Aurangzeb.
On the fringes of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2025 Opening Banquet, there was an informal meeting.
Additionally, the Finance Minister met with Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Both leaders discussed economic cooperation and bilateral ties.
Muhammad Aurangzeb also had a meeting with Dp World’s Rizwan Soomro and Yuvraj Narayan.
They talked about how to strengthen Pakistan’s logistics and infrastructure systems to support trade.
“The Pakistani government is committed to advancing joint projects and values partnerships in both business-to-business and business-to-government cooperation,” the finance minister added.

Continue Reading

Trending