PKR loses 45 paisa, closes at 211.93 per USD

June 22, 2022 (MLN): After witnessing a notable recovery of over three rupees durng intraday trade owing to the positive developments on IMF front, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) lost 45 paisa against USD in today's session as the interbank market could not manage to sustain the positive sentiments. Hence, the currency closed the day's trade at 211.93, compared to the previous closing of PKR 211.48 per USD.

The rupee endured a highly volatile trading session with quotes being recorded in a range of 3.3 rupees per USD showing an intraday high bid of 211.80 and an intraday low offer of 210.00. Within the open market, PKR was traded at 212/215 per USD.

Positive news on the IMF front wherein Pakistan side and IMF reached an understanding on the federal budget for FY23, has brought back the certainty among market participants during intraday trade which made PKR able to gain its lost ground by over three rupees.

However, the local unit could not sustain the gains on the back of upcoming taxes and petroleum levy which are the key requirements to unlock IMF tranche, Zafar Paracha, President of Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan told Mettis Global.

He added that IMF has not yet transferred any amount to Pakistan but highlighted the conditions pertaining to fiscal consolidation once again that need to be fulfilled.

If this positive development sustains, the local unit is likely to recover in the near term, he anticipated.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail is hopeful that the IMF would increase the funding amount to $6bn and the bailout duration to 39 months. 

“I am also expecting that the duration of the program will be extended by a year and the amount of loan will be augmented,” he said. However, he added that the IMF had not yet committed to the changes.

From July’21 to date, the local unit has lost Rs54.38 against the USD. Similarly, the rupee fell by Rs35.42 in CY21, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 6.36%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

During the last 52 weeks, PKR lost 25.66% against the greenback while reaching its lowest at 211.93 today, and the highest of 157.57 on June 30, 2021.

Furthermore, the local unit has weakened by 16.14% since its high on July 02, 2021, against EUR while, it has dropped by 16.05% against GBP since its high on July 02, 2021.

The performance of the local unit remained bleak against other major currencies during one month as the currency lost its value by 5.59%, 5.19%, 5.16%, 4.49%, 4.34%, and 2.40% against CHF, AED, SAR, CNY, EUR, and GBP, respectively. On the other hand, it has been appreciated by 1.18% against JPY during the same period. 

Alternatively, the currency gained 1.4 rupees against the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 258.81 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 260.23 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value strengthened by 75 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 222.74 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 12.75/12.80 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 13.25/13.35 percent.

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