PKR slides by 2.3 rupees against greenback

March 20, 2023 (MLN): Amidst economic uncertainty and political upheaval, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) has further depreciated by 2.3 rupees against the US dollar in today's interbank session as the currency closed the trade at PKR 284.03 per USD, against previous session's close of PKR 281.71 per USD.

Throughout today’s session, the local unit traded in a band of 2.85 rupees, showing an intraday high bid of 284 and low offer of 282 while in the open market, PKR was traded at 282.80/286 per USD.

The strong spell of depreciation is primarily attributed to the longer-than-expected delay in the IMF tranche.

In addition to it, the speculation that there are conditions attached to Pakistan's missile or nuclear program as part of the 9th review of the IMF-supported program.

However, the fund has refuted the speculations saying that discussions with the Pakistani authorities have exclusively focused on economic policies to address the country's economic and balance of payments issues.

Ms. Esther Perez Luiz, the IMF resident representative categorically denied these speculations, stating that there was "absolutely no truth" to any such insinuations.

The IMF has been supporting Pakistan's economic reforms and stabilization efforts through multiple programs over the years.

The focus of these programs has always been on promoting macroeconomic and financial stability, and the organization has not been involved in any decision-making processes related to Pakistan's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the currency lost 4.1 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 346.29 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 342.16 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 2.6 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 302.83 at the interbank today.

In FYTD, PKR lost 79.18 rupees or 27.88%, while it plummeted by 57.60 rupees or 20.28% against the USD in CYTD. On the other hand, within the last seven sessions, the local unit moved down by 0.85%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 19.25%/19.5%, whereas the 1-week rate was 19.55%/19.65%.

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