April 22, 2022 (MLN): Breaking its losing streak, thePakistani rupee (PKR) has appreciated by 27 paisa against the US dollar in today's interbank session as the currency closed the trade on Friday at PKR 186.7, compared to the yesterday's closing of PKR 186.97 per USD.
The rupee endured a highly volatile trading session with quotes being recorded in a range of 1.4 rupees per USD showing an intraday high bid of 187.80 and an intraday low offer of 186.70.
This appreciation is primarily attributable to the increase in the foreign exchange reserves as the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country increased by $16.9 million or 0.09% WoW to stand at $17.04bn. Meanwhile, market experts are hopeful regarding the resumption of the stalled $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
From July’21 to date, the local unit has lost Rs29.15 against the USD. Similarly, the rupee fell by Rs10.18 in CYTD, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a drop of 1.73%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 186/187.80 per USD.
Meanwhile, the currency gained 3.3 rupees against the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 241.1 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 244.4 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value strengthened by 2.3 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 201.79 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an Open Market Operation in which it injected Rs3 trillion into the market for 7 days at 12.30 percent.
The overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 12.60/12.80 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 12.25/12.35 percent.
