Rupee's recovery streak continues unabated for fourth session

• Rupee gains 0.11% to close at Rs181.82 against the US dollar.
• Recovery is powered mostly by the political change and bets the stalled IMF loan will be revived soon.
• Pakistani rupee has depreciated by Rs23.48 since July 1, 2021.

KARACHI: Pakistani currency clawed back from record lows continued on Wednesday as the rupee made more dents in the US dollar for the fourth session, powered mostly by the political change and bets the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan will be revived soon.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs181.82 against the greenback in the inter-bank market, gaining 0.11%.

The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the last 11 months. It has lost 19.40% (or Rs29.55) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.

With a fresh rise of 0.11%, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 15.41% (or Rs24.28) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

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The currency market took positive cues from the press conference held by the former finance minister and PML-N leader Miftah Ismail a day earlier. Traders also cited optimism after the newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signalled on Monday his intent to fix the economy and improve ties with the US, India, and China.

Moreover, assurance from SBP Governor Reza Baqir that engagement with the IMF “remains strong both for the finance ministry as well as for the central bank” helped the rupee gain further.

“We are quite confident that quite soon we will be able to put the delay behind us and soon announce the good news of completing the next tranche for the IMF,” he had said in an interview with Bloomberg. It is worth mentioning that out of the total IMF package worth $6 billion, the country has drawn $3 billion so far.

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Currency dealers believe that with the political stability the concerns about stalling of the IMF programme and hence, the financing of the funding gap now seem to have eased.