The Pakistani rupee remained stable against the US dollar in the interbank market on Friday despite a drop in the country’s foreign exchange reserves, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency appreciated by seven paisas against the greenback and ended the week at Rs279.41.
On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee had registered a marginal increase to settle for the day at Rs279.48 against the US dollar.
In a key development, the government team is reportedly all set to hold a session with International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a day or two on electricity price rationalisation meant to reduce tariff for industry up to cents 11.75 per unit from cents 14 per unit through subsidy neutral proposal.
Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declined by $54 million to $8.216 billion during the week ended on Jan 26.
The SBP, however, succeeded to retain the total reserves above $8 billion. The reserves have been a crucial point for the country as it supports both the exchange rate and stability in the trade regime.
The trade deficit declined during the first seven months of the current fiscal year while the current account is also manageable. However, the payment of debt servicing is still a big hurdle for the economic managers. Reports appeared in the media suggest that China has rolled over $2bn, which was due to be paid in March by Pakistan but no confirmation was available from the Ministry of Finance so far.
The total reserves of the country were $13.262 billion including $5.046 billion held by the commercial banks.
https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1753096559947141369
Reporter Ashraf Khan