Business

Rupee slide slows down due to current account numbers

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Rupee closes at 220.95 after losing 0.03% in interbank market.
Analyst says rupee’s outlook has improved significantly.
Since the start of fiscal year 2022-23, rupee has lost Rs16.1.

KARACHI: The downward slide of the Pakistani rupee slowed on Thursday as the encouraging current account deficit number has lent some support to the local unit.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs220.95 in the interbank market after depreciating registering a meagre loss of 0.03% against the greenback compared to Wednesday’s close of 220.88.

The market took positive cues from the current account deficit released a day earlier, which narrowed 37% to $2.2 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year due to lower imports and a rise in exports.

Commenting on the rupee’s movement, Pakistan-Kuwait Head of Research Samiullah Tariq said better than expected current account deficit number has improved the sentiment. “Slight movement was exhibited by the rupee,” he said.

Regarding the outlook, Tariq said it had improved significantly with a lower current account deficit number.

Since the start of the fiscal year 2022-23, the rupee has lost Rs16.1 or 7.85% against the US currency — which leaves its imprint on every corner of the global economy as it is the currency in which vital raw materials are bought and sold.

Dar rules out need for ‘steps’ to support rupee

A day earlier, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar ruled out the need for any particular supportive measures for the rupee, stoking optimism among traders that the ‘Darnomics’ will soon be able to crack the country’s monetary conundrum.

“The rupee has been heavily undervalued,” Dar said during an interview with Bloomberg in Washington, where he has been attending annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

“It is due to speculation — and some players in the market have been responsible for that,” he said.

“I thank those players in the market who have realised that that game at the cost of the national currency will not continue,” he asserted while highlighting that the exchange rate stabilised after traders learned he would take office.

Responding to a query if he was planning to take any “specific steps” to boost the rupee, he said: “I don’t think so. We don’t have the luxury of physically spending foreign exchange — it’s very scarce at the moment.”

Business

Trade ties between Pak-Oman: Both nations decide to activate “Joint Business Council”.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

Jam Kamal Khan, federal minister for commerce, visited Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Muscat alongside chairman Faisal Abdullah Al Rawas.

To enable closer economic collaboration, both sides decided during the meeting to activate joint Business Council between OCCI and the federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and industry.

Concurrent with the conference, the Embassy of Pakistan arranged a b2b networking event in association with OCCI to gather Omani Businessmen and Pakistani Business Delegates investigating trade prospects.

Speaking on the occasion, Jam Kamal Khan said, “Our present trade figures do not fairly represent the depth of our connection. We can quickly raise the current Trade volume to two or three times its present level by just eliminating logistical and communication barriers.

Business

Despite economic gains, PSX remains strong.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

Amidst the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a loan tranche, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has resumed its upward trajectory in recent days.

The KSE-100 Index gained 600 points on Friday, the penultimate working day of the business week, and then increased to 115,730 points as traders showed confidence and engaged in trading.

After experiencing fluctuations, the PSX gained strength on Thursday, as the major index surpassed 115,000 points.

The KSE 100-Index closed at 115,094.23 points after gaining 1,009.70 points, or 0.89 percent. 115,247.39 was the intraday high, and 14,429.93 was the lowest.

According to experts, one important factor is Moody’s Ratings’ upgrade of Pakistani banks. Investor confidence has also increased due to the expectation of a positive conclusion from the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In its assessment, Moody’s stated, “We have shifted our outlook on Pakistan’s banking system from stable to positive to reflect the banks’ resilient financial performance as well as improving macroeconomic conditions from very weak levels a year ago.”

The major index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surpassed 115,000 on Thursday, indicating a surge in the market.

Business

Pakistan resolves to meet benchmarks, and the IMF promises economic help.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

In the midst of an ongoing economic review, the delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has promised Pakistan economic cooperation.

In order to assess the delivery of a $1 billion tranche under the $7 billion rescue deal, IMF officials are now in Pakistan.

Today, March 14, marks the completion of the two-week-long economic review and negotiations between the global lender’s representatives and Pakistani authorities.

The team met with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Ministry of Finance for the last round of negotiations.

The nation’s economic team’s actions and performance were praised by the visiting officials.

Aurangzeb promised the IMF during the conference that all economic goals would be met. He said that as long as the loan program is in place, no goals would be broken.