Rupee loses ground against USD

KARACHI: Pakistani rupee slide against US dollar in the interbank market, ARY News reported on Monday.

Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/JXY6kw8YvA pic.twitter.com/W38cfIp4bc

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) April 17, 2023

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency lost Rs0.31 against the greenback in the interbank market to close at Rs284.71.

The selling rate of dollars in the open market were recorded at Rs 288, the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) added.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had earlier said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will provide support of $1 billion to Pakistan.

“UAE authorities have confirmed to IMF for their bilateral support of US $1 billion to Pakistan,” Dar said in a tweet today.

Ishaq Dar added that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was now “engaged for needful documentation for taking the said deposit from UAE authorities”.

The move will pave way for Pakistan to unlock the months-long delayed $1.1 billion IMF loan tranche to shore up the country’s struggling economy.

Pakistan has less than a month’s worth of foreign exchange reserves and is awaiting a bailout package of $1.1 billion from the IMF that has been delayed since November over issues related to fiscal policy adjustments.

To unlock the funding, the government has cut back on subsidies, removed an artificial cap on the exchange rate, added taxes and raised fuel prices.