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KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee’s flight continued against the dollar on Friday, amid expectations of inflows from foreign financial institutions, besides a reduction in trade deficit, dealers said.

The exchange rate witnessed a gain of Rs2.02 against the dollar to reach Rs219.92, from the previous day’s closing of Rs221.94 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency experts said that the market sentiments improved following the announcement by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to lend support to the local economy.

The ADB on September 5, announced it would provide aid of around $2.5 billion for relief operations in the wake of devastating floods that have caused catastrophic damage in Pakistan, they added.

The market witnessed a continuous supply of the greenback where exporters and traders opted to sell the greenback after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the government is trying to bring the dollar below the Rs200 mark.

The trade deficit of Pakistan recorded a decline of 21.42 per cent to clock-in at $9.2 billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023, compared with that of $11.7 billion recorded during the same period of fiscal year 2022.

The total imports during the first quarter stood at $16.3 billion, compared with $18.71 billion recorded during the same period of last fiscal year. The exports rose to $7.1 billion, from $6.99 billion in the first quarter of last year.

On the flip side, the foreign exchange reserves of the country have been on a constant decline due to external debt repayment.

The foreign currency reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $106 million to reach $7.89 billion during the week ended September 30, compared with $8 billion on September 23.

The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13.58 billion. The Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.68 billion.

Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday also downgraded Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘Caa1’ from ‘B3’ and maintained the outlook at negative.

In the wake of the disastrous floods that have struck the nation since June 2022, the decision to lower the ratings to ‘Caa1’ was motivated by increased government liquidity, external vulnerability risks, and higher debt sustainability risks.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The rupee lost Rs15.07 or 7.35 per cent from Rs204.85 to dollar on June 30, 2022 to the current level of Rs219.92.

At the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs221 and Rs223 at 4:45pm PST.

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KARACHI: The rupee remained almost stable before closing the day with a slight fall against the dollar on Thursday, amid a decline in the current account deficit during the ongoing fiscal year.

The exchange rate witnessed a loss of 6 paisas to reach Rs239.71 against the dollar from the previous days’ closing of Rs239. 65 at the interbank exchange market.

The fall in the value of the rupee came amid the US Federal Reserve’s announcement in which it raised the key US interest rate again, which took the policy rate to 3.0-3.25 per cent.

The latest hike in the policy rate has added to the dollar’s strength, and put major currencies, including the Pakistani rupee under severe pressure.

Pakistan’s current account deficit shrank 19 per cent during the first two months of the fiscal year 2023 due to a lower import bill and increase in exports.

Cumulatively, the country recorded a current account deficit amounting to $1.92 billion in the first two months of ongoing fiscal year, compared with $2.37 billion in the same period of last fiscal year, depicting a decline of $456 million, a report by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

The decline in the current account deficit is due to an 11 per cent surge in exports and around 2 per cent contraction in the import bill, the central bank said.

The local unit has remained under pressure throughout September, despite inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which were expected to help the government in attracting further investment and loan agreements from other multilateral institutions and friendly countries.

Although the government has had some success in securing some economic support from Saudi Arabia, it failed to provide the required stability to the exchange rate.

The announcement by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) for the rollover of the deposits failed to support the rupee in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The SFD has confirmed a rollover of a $3 billion deposit maturing on December 05, for one year. The deposit is placed with the SBP and is part of its foreign exchange reserves.

Additionally, the recent floods across the country have further dented the economic activities. The catastrophic floods are estimated to have caused more than $10 billion losses, as standing crops in all provinces have been destroyed.

The country’s current account and trade deficit are expected to widen in the future as the government is moving to import essential food items. The industrial activities have also been badly disrupted which will massively impact the exports of the country.

Pakistan’s trade deficit swelled 31 per cent on a month-on-month basis to hit $3.5 billion, data by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.

Pakistan’s petroleum group imports witnessed a growth of 6.97 per cent during the first two months (July-August) of the fiscal year 2023 and stood at $3.30 billion, compared with $3.08 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

Likewise, the foreign exchange reserves of the country have also recorded a decline on the back of less inflows and higher imports.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell $176 million to reach 8.62 billion during the week ended September 9, compared with $8.79 billion on September 2.

The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $14.31 billion. The net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.69 billion.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The rupee lost Rs34.86 or 17 per cent from Rs204.85 to dollar on June 30, 2022 to the current level of Rs239.71.

At the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs241.7 and Rs244.1 at 4:30pm PST.

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KARACHI: The rupee free fall remained unabated against the dollar on Tuesday as the macroeconomics of the country worsened besides a lack of funding to boost the foreign exchange reserves.

The exchange rate witnessed a loss of Re1 to reach Rs238.91 against the dollar from the previous days’ closing of Rs237.91 at the interbank exchange market.

Currency experts said that the local unit continued to take battering as the dollar is strengthening against major currencies in the international market.

The recent floods across the country have added more pressure on the rupee due to expectedly higher imports ahead on account of agriculture and food due to massive devastation of essential crops, they added.

The country’s current account and trade deficit are expected to widen further as the government is moving to import essential food items. The industrial activities have also been badly disrupted which will massively impact the exports of the country.

Pakistan’s trade deficit swelled 31 per cent on a month-on-month basis to hit $3.5 billion, data by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.

According to data released by PBS, the petroleum group imports registered a 29.93 per cent growth in August 2022 on a month-on-month basis to stand at $1.86 billion compared with $1.43 billion in July 2022.

Pakistan’s petroleum group imports witnessed a growth of 6.97 per cent during the first two months (July-August) of the fiscal year 2023 and stood at $3.30 billion, compared with $3.08 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

Likewise, the foreign exchange reserves of the country have also recorded a decline on the back of less inflows and higher imports.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell $176 million to reach 8.62 billion during the week ended September 9, compared with $8.79 billion on September 2.

The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $14.31 billion. The net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.69 billion.

The country’s current account deficit rose 531 per cent to over $17 billion during the fiscal year 2022 due to massive increase in goods import bill. Overall, the current account deficit was $17.4 billion during the fiscal year 2022, compared with $2.8 billion in the fiscal year 2021, depicting an increase of $14.6 billion.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The rupee lost Rs34.06 or 16.62 per cent from Rs204.85 to dollar on June 30, 2022 to the current level of Rs238.91.

At the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs242.5 and Rs244.8 at 4:30pm PST.

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KARACHI: The free-fall in the value of the rupee against the dollar continued on Friday on the back of rising import bill as the government moves for the import of essential food items to meet local demand.

The exchange rate witnessed a loss of Rs2.76 to reach Rs228.18 against the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs225.42. The local currency fell to the historic low of Rs239.94 against the dollar on July 28, 2022.

The analysts attributed the continuous decline of the rupee to the destruction of major crops, which is expected to result in the surging imports of the food items.

The exports of food commodities are also likely to take a massive hit which will play a significant role in extending the current account deficit, they added.

The government is likely to revise the gross domestic product (GDP) targets due to the devastating floods which will slow down production in various sectors, against the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast of 3.5 per cent.

Pakistan’s trade deficit also widened in August, after witnessing an ease in the previous month, while the analysts predict a further uptick in imports mainly due to the food items’ imports.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data, the trade deficit clocked-in at $3.53 billion in August, compared with $2.73 billion, showing an increase of 28.89 per cent.

During the month, the imports recorded an increase of 20.84 per cent to $6.03 billion, compared with $4.99 billion during the previous month.

However, the foreign exchange reserves of the country got a boost after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received inflows from the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recorded an increase of $1.16 billion, to clock-in at $8.8 billion in the week ended September 2, following the receipt of the $1.16 billion loan tranche from the IMF.

The total liquid forex reserves held by the country stood at $14.5 billion. The net foreign exchange reserves held by the commercial banks amounted to $5.7 billion.

The country’s current account deficit rose 531 per cent to over $17 billion during the fiscal year 2022 due to massive increase in goods import bill. Overall, the current account deficit was $17.4 billion during the fiscal year 2022, compared with $2.8 billion in the fiscal year 2021, depicting an increase of $14.6 billion.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The rupee lost Rs23.33 or 11.38 per cent from Rs204.85 to dollar on June 30, 2022 to the current level of Rs228.18.

At the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs231 and Rs233.5 at 4:30pm PST.

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KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee gained 30 paisas to reach Rs214.65 against the dollar on Friday, amid prevailing positive sentiments, as the government is likely to secure major loan agreements, dealers said.

The local unit shed 30 paisas to close at Rs214.65 to the dollar from Thursday’s closing of Rs213.95 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency experts said that the investors’ confidence got a boost from the likely successful completion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and financial support from Saudi Arabia besides swelling foreign exchange reserves.

Pakistan is reported to meet all prior conditions of the IMF for the disbursement of $1.17 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is also reported to renew its $3 billion.

The kingdom will also provide a $100 million loan for oil per month, which will be received from Saudi Arabia in 10 months on deferred payments of $1 billion.

As the rupee began to batter the greenback in the interbank market, the exporters also opted to bring their receipts which they were holding for a better yield, resulting in dollar surplus in the country.

The country’s current account deficit has also narrowed during July on the back of lower import bill. The trade deficit came in at $2.64 billion in July, down 47 per cent or $2.32 billion on a month-on-month basis.

After a continuous decline during the recent past, the foreign exchange reserves of the country witnessed an increase as the foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed a growth of $67 million, to reach $7.9 billion during the week ended August 12, compared with $7.83 billion on August 5.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.61 billion. The net foreign reserves held by commercial banks amounted to $5.72 billion.

The country’s current account deficit rose 531 per cent to over $17 billion during the fiscal year 2022 due to massive increase in goods import bill. Overall, the current account deficit was $17.4 billion during the fiscal year 2022, compared with $2.8 billion in the fiscal year 2021, depicting an increase of $14.6 billion.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The rupee lost Rs9.8 or 4.78 per cent from Rs204.85 to dollar on June 30, 2022 to the current level of Rs214.65.

At the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs215.5 and Rs218.5 at 5:30pm PST.

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KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee gained Rs3.03 on Thursday to reach Rs218.88 against the dollar as the investors and traders rejoiced at the development regarding the likely inflows besides a reduced current account deficit.

The local unit gained Rs3.03 to close at Rs218.88 to the dollar from Wednesday’s closing of Rs221.91 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The rupee has recorded gains in the interbank market for eight consecutive sessions after the Army Chief of Pakistan requested the US officials for their cooperation in the early resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

Analysts said that the news inflows regarding a likely disbursement from the IMF and a reduction in the current account deficit enhanced the investors’ participation in the market. The trade deficit came in at $2.64 billion in July, down 47 per cent or $2.32 billion on a month-on-month basis.

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