Rupee continues recovery against USD for fourth consecutive day

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee continued its upward trajectory on Thursday and was being traded at Rs226.19 against the US dollar in the interbank market.
The rupee on Wednesday made an all-time high recovery of Rs9.98 in a single day and closed at a three-week high of Rs228.80 against the US dollar.
Experts said the rupee saw its first major recovery after a gap of over three months after the government had reported a massive drop in import payments. In addition, they added, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also acknowledged Pakistan meeting all the prerequisite conditions for its multibillion-dollar programme.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had stated that the IMF Executive Board was scheduled to meet on August 24, and it would consider giving final approval for the resumption of the programme.
The approval would be followed by the receipt of the next loan tranche of $1.2 billion.
Today, the local currency gained Rs2.61 against the greenback.
An increased supply of the USD in the local market has also helped the rupee to appreciate against the greenback.
With positive news from the IMF, experts are of the opinion that only a $4 billion shortfall remains for this year, and once that is arranged with the assistance of friendly countries, the local currency would be in a better position. -Agencies