Will the dollar rate go further down in Pakistan?

The dollar rate in Pakistan went down again today after the Pakistani rupee made a remarkable Rs9.8 or more than 4% recovery against the US dollar during Wednesday's close in the interbank market.

Analysts expect the local unit to continue gaining ground if stability in the country continues.

In a major development, the dollar slumped by 4.19% against the rupee — the highest since November 2, 1998, when the greenback fell by Rs5.10.

Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) Chairman Malik Bostan, speaking on 'Geo Pakistan', said that several factors have played a part in bridging the rupee-dollar parity.

Even today, the rupee continued to gain against the dollar during intraday trade in the interbank market.

Bostan said that apart from the reduction in import bills and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa's telephonic conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to help expedite the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan programme revival, the money lender's statement has played a key part in the dollar's fall.

IMF's Resident Representative for Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement Tuesday that a board meeting is tentatively scheduled for late August once adequate financing assurances are confirmed.

In case the IMF releases the $1.2 billion later in August, Bostan said the dollar could fall to 180-190 against the Pakistan rupee and will continue to break records.

"...this was the actual level of the dollar. Before the political instability in the country and the Punjab by-elections — which upset everything, including the markets — the dollar wasn't at such highs," he said.