Pakistani rupee rebounds against US dollar

KARACHI: Sharply recovering against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, the Pakistani rupee on Wednesday  reached Rs172.78 against the greenback.

The development came after Saudi Arabia announced that it was depositing $3 billion in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to help support its foreign reserves.

According to data released by the central bank, the local currency appreciated around 1.44% (or Rs2.49) to settle at Rs172.78 in the inter-bank market. The local currency had closed at an all-time low of Rs175.27 against the greenback on Tuesday.

Late on Tuesday, the Saudi Fund for Development had said it was depositing $3 billion in State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to help support its foreign reserves.

The fund added that an official directive was issued to supply $1.2 billion to finance Pakistan’s oil products trade during the year.

The news was acknowledged by all financial markets as it positively impacted the foreign exchange reserves.

Moreover, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar confirmed that the Saudi fund has also generously announced for Pakistan an oil deferred payments facility of $1.2 billion per annum.

Analysts believe this will ease the uncertainty due to the energy crisis and costly imports of oil which has been the major reason behind currency depreciation.

The rupee had maintained the downtrend for the past five months. It has lost 13.46% (or Rs20.51) to date, compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded in May.

The local currency had depreciated 9.67% (or Rs15.24) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.