KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Friday continued to gain against the US dollar and was up by Rs2.13 in the inter-bank market during the opening hours of trade.
At around 11:30am, with appreciation of Rs2.13 or 0.94%, the rupee was being traded at 227.50.
The rupee strengthened against the US dollar for the fifth straight session on Thursday, finishing at 229.63 after rising Rs2.49 or 1.08% in the interbank market as Ishaq Dar’s return-related optimism persisted. On Thursday, Dar took the oath of office as the federal minister of revenue and finance.
The current currency appreciation run has been linked by market experts to the market’s speculative activity being curbed as a result of actions taken by the State Bank of Pakistan and remarks made by the incoming finance minister.
However, they have voiced concern that the sentiment-based gain, in the absence of any structural change, will be fleeting and the rupee will return to its downward trend, barring the manifestation of dollar inflows.
The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by another $341 million, falling to an alarming $8 billion as of September 23, 2022, according to data released on Thursday, which was bad news for the Pakistani rupee.
