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KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Monday continued its positive momentum against the US dollar for the fifth successive session, appreciating 0.36% in the interbank.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the currency closed at 261.88 against the US dollar, an increase of Rs0.94. Despite the gains, the currency has still depreciated 21.4% during the ongoing fiscal year against the greenback.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/47hbhMZSRQ pic.twitter.com/vPs9Ep2Tcr
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) February 20, 2023
During the previous week, the rupee appreciated 2.45%, reportedly helped by realization of export proceeds and higher inflow of remittances through legal channels, to settle at 262.82 against the US dollar.
During the week, the SBP also reported a slight increase in foreign exchange reserves, which clocked in at $3.19 billion.
In a significant development, Pakistan’s current account deficit (CAD) reduced by more 67% in the first seven months of this fiscal year (FY23) due to restrictions on imports, with the negative gap during January alone recorded at $0.242 billion.
According to data released on Monday by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the overall current account deficit for the country decreased by $7.75 billion, from $11.558 billion in the same time of FY22 to $3.799 billion in FY23.
“CAD recorded $0.2 billion in January 2023 against a deficit of $2.5 billion in January 2022,” the central bank said.
