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Rupee snaps three-day losing streak against dollar

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2 years ago

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  • Local currency gains Rs1.28 against the dollar. 
  • Paracha says it was a “very good” day for economy.
  • ECAP official expects market sentiment to improve. 

The Pakistani rupee has kickstarted the week on a positive note against the US dollar as exporters encashed large amounts of payments, boosting the market sentiment.

The local currency gained Rs1.28 or 0.46% against the dollar in the interbank market to close at 275.29, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), up from Friday’s close of 276.58. Meanwhile, the rupee remained stable at 283 in the open market.

During the last week, the rupee plunged to a historic low against the dollar after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was giving Pakistan “a tough time”.

In a video statement, Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) General Secretary Zafar Paracha said that Monday was “very good” for Pakistan’s economy as the rupee appreciated around 6 in the interbank market during intraday trade.

He said that the rupee’s recovery has started as the exporters, who had earlier stopped their payments, have encashed them. He added that there has been pressure to sell dollars in the interbank market. 

“It is expected that the market’s sentiments will move towards betterment. The sentiments are changing as the people had [earlier] thought that the dollar would reach 300,” said the ECAP’s secretary general. 

He urged the people to sell their dollars for profit-taking. “This would bring stability to our country, our foreign exchange reserves will increase, the rating will improve, the rate of our sukuk bonds will also get better and it will provide ease to the government in holding negotiations with the IMF.”  

Paracha added that the staff-level agreement with the Fund will be signed on February 9. “However, the IMF’s conditions will raise inflation and for that, the government needs to manage its expenses.”

He warned that if the people have to bear the brunt of the taxes, then this could lead to an anarchic situation in the country. He said that the government needs to take steps carefully as the political situation is also unstable. 

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

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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.

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

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SBP will announce monetary policy on January 27.

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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.

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

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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.

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