On Monday, the Pakistani rupee experienced a significant drop against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, closing at 287.09, down 2.44 or 0.85%, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
This comes after the rupee had already depreciated 0.3% the previous week. The currency fell in four of the five sessions, with only a slight gain on Thursday when it was announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had received financing assurance from Saudi Arabia.
The delay in the confirmation of funding from a friendly country is the only reason the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF is taking longer than expected. The fall of the rupee is likely to continue until this condition is met, and the dollar is expected to continue to rise internationally due to US jobs data indicating a tight labour market, raising expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its next meeting.
