Thursday was the day for the Pakistani rupee to rebound and gave the US dollar a taste of its own medicine in the interbank market. According to the information forwarded by the forex dealers, the local currency hit back at the greenback recovering by Rs1.35 on the heels of some positive news on the economic front, and was currently being traded at Rs286.50.

On Wednesday, negative economic indicators and uncertainty about IMF programme revival pushed the rupee towards a record low against the US dollar. The rupee closed at 287.29, a loss of Rs2.25 or 0.8%. This is the lowest level for the Pakistani rupee since it hit 285.02 against the greenback in March this year.

However, some positive news developed on Wednesday evening after the markets were closed including a statement from the governor of State Bank of Pakistan, suggesting the International Monetary Fund can make a good news about Pakistan anytime. The SBP governor speaking in Islamabad further said the IMF can make a good announcement for Pakistan anytime as the country has fulfilled all the public finance and monetary requirements as demanded by the global lender.

“After completing these requirements, our path to revive the IMF programme has become clear,” the SBP governor added. Governor Ahmad divulged that the government is arranging loans and safe deposits from friendly countries and banking institutions. There were also reports that Saudi Arabia has given a green signal for the funding of $2 billion to Pakistan. Progress has also been made to secure $3 billion funding from other friendly countries.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will contact the friendly countries including the UAE before his visit to the US next week. Experts say the market awaits the resumption of the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which has remained stalled since last year.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP