Rupee gains 13 paisa in interbank market against dollar

KARACHI: At the start of today’s interbank trading, the rupee gained 13 paisa on Monday against the US dollar owing to efforts of the government to stop the dollar flight.

The greenback has seen a marginal depreciation of the local currency and is being traded in the interbank market at Rs154.90.

READ MORE: SBP: Banks to observe extended working hours on Dec 31

Earlier on Dec 27, the US dollar fell 4 paisa compared to the rupee to close at Rs 155.03 compared to its previous Rs 155.07 value.

It is important to note that Pakistan received $452.4 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a second tranche of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility last week.

After confirming the report, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) spokesperson said the release of the second tranche of more than $452mn showed the confidence of the IMF in the economic policies of the government.

READ ALSO: PTI govt pleased over IMF’s economic indicators

The spokesman said the net reserves of the central bank increased over the week by $14 million to $10.9 billion at the end of December 20.

He stated that the overall foreign reserves of the country stood at $17.6 billion. SBP’s spokesperson said that commercial banks held net foreign reserves of around $6.68 billion.