KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Wednesday remained stable against the dollar as the market is looking for direction amid the government’s ongoing tough parleys with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
US dollar closed at Rs268.83 in the interbank after the local currency lost Rs0.94, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).Â
Since a cap on the currency was lifted on January 25, the rupee has been falling in order to shift to a market-driven exchange rate.
The local currency lost Rs38, or 14.1%, overall since January 25 compared to last Wednesday’s close of Rs230.89 to a dollar, according to the SBP data.
Following the massive plunge the rupee became the region’s worst-performing currency so far this year, slumping 16%.Â
The crisis-hit country is dealing with a serious balance of payments crisis and has just about three weeks’ worth of import coverage in foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan is scrambling to secure foreign financing to avoid default.
As of January 20, the foreign exchange reserves of the central bank stood at $3.7 billion.
