The Pakistani rupee extended its gains, marking its longest winning streak since April 2024. This streak follows a series of measures taken by the central bank to stabilise the currency, including slowing down its purchases of dollars to support its foreign exchange reserves.
The rupee’s rise also came amid a government crackdown on illegal dollar trade, which helped alleviate pressure on the local currency.
The rupee’s recovery in July followed significant losses in the first weeks of the month. The central bank’s slow buying from the interbank market has been a key factor in this improvement, as well as heightened actions by security agencies against black-market dollar trading.
In the open market, the rupee also gained, rising to 285.15 per dollar from 285.25 in the previous session, as reported by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).
The rupee’s positive trend comes after a series of meetings between army officials, top bankers, and foreign exchange bodies to address the recent currency volatility. The country’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has been involved in discussions, although they have not publicly commented.
The central bank has also reported a 26% increase in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which reached $14.5 billion in June. Reserves are expected to rise to $15.5 billion by the end of 2025, with the central bank planning to continue building reserves at a controlled pace to prevent excessive pressure on the rupee.
Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Jameel Ahmad, reiterated that while foreign exchange reserves will continue to grow, the pace of dollar purchases will be kept moderate to avoid impacting the currency.
