Pakistan’s currency hit an 11-month low at Rs165.20 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market despite the receipt of a significant amount of foreign funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday.
On Monday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received $2.75 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation announced by the fund recently.
On the same day, the Pakistani rupee depreciated 0.15 percent and reached from Rs164.18 to Rs 164.43 at the closing time of the inter-bank closing rate.
Latest SBP data shows the forex reserves of the central bank are at $17.626bn; including $2.75bn of IMF that would take the total to $20.4bn.
The dollar is on its upward journey for quite some sessions. It started appreciating since May 7 and has increased by 8.5 per cent, gaining about Rs12.92.
Dawn reported that the steep rise will hit exports as the exportable products are prepared with the imported constituents in the range of 30pc to 35pc.
The local daily also reported that the 8.5pc depreciation of local currency would also be translated into the prices of petroleum products including LNG, thereby escalating inflation and increasing the cost of production.
