Karachi: For the seventh consecutive session, Pakistani Rupee has suffered a loss in value against the US Dollar despite the inflow from the International Monetary Flow (IMF) and claims of stability from the government.
According to reports, Rupee depreciated by Rs1.11 in the interbank market. In open market, the Dollar stood at Rs293 and reached Rs287.92 in the Interbank market. During the seven trading sessions, the Rupee lost Rs11.46 or 3.98 per cent in value.
As per the currency experts the market is facing a reverse trend as domestic savers are trying to protect their savings by buying dollars despite higher returns offered by banks. Currency Dealer in the Interbank market, Atif Ahmed, said that the downward trend is discouraging. He added that it’s unreasonable that the market is not responding the way it was expected despite jumps in dollar inflows and agreement with the IMF. Atif highlighted that the overall economy is not performing, and the downward trend has affected all segments of the economy.
For over a year it was said that IMF inflow would help avoid the default. When Pakistan receive the $3 billion Stand-By agreement, all experts believed that the market would respond positively.
Currency experts suggest that market confidence is shooked due to
frequent negative reports about the payment ability. In FY24, Pakistan has to pay about $25bn in debt servicing.
Senior economists stated that the general elections, expected in November 2023, are also pushing political uncertainty and likely to further depress the economic situation of Pakistan.