Rupee gains 13 paisa against dollar in interbank market

KARACHI: The rupee gained 13 paisa against the United States (US) dollar at the start of today’s trading in the interbank market.

The greenback witnessed a slight depreciation against the local currency and is being traded at Rs154.90 in the interbank market.

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

It is noteworthy that Pakistan last week received $452.4 mn as a second tranche of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Confirming the report, a spokesperson of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that the release of second tranche amounting to over $452mn showed IMF’s confidence over the government’s economic policies.

The spokesperson said that central bank’s net reserves increased by $14mn to $10.9 billion during the week ending December 20.

He maintained that the country’s total foreign reserves stood at $17.6 billion. SBP’s spokesperson said that net foreign reserves held by commercial banks are around $6.68 billion.