Dollar surges to Rs206.25 amid uncertainty over IMF programme

KARACHI: The US dollar gained further in the interbank market Wednesday and was trading at 206.25 in the first session amid uncertainty over the revival of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan programme, Geo News reported.

The Pakistani rupee depreciated over 1.09 paisas during the intraday trading today. The local currency was trading at Rs206.25 to a dollar at around 11:30am which ended at Rs205.16 a day prior.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started in the green as the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 373.47 points or 0.91% to reach 41,428.15 points during the morning session.

The rupee plumbed to a fresh record low on Tuesday as doubts increased about the revival of the much-needed $6 billion IMF bailout package after the country’s recently unveiled budget could not satisfy the lender.

The local unit plunged to an all-time low for a second time this week, hitting 205.16 against the dollar in the interbank market. It weakened by 1.3 rupees or 0.63%. The rupee ended at 203.86 on Monday.

Traders said the rupee has been losing ground due to the balance of payment crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves. But, the IMF comments on the measures announced in the budget added new pressure on the domestic currency.

The IMF has asked Pakistan to take “additional measures” to strengthen the budget and bring it in line with the key objectives of the fund programme.