The Pakistani rupee remained largely unchanged against the US dollar during the early hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday.
In the interbank market, the rupee was priced at 283.65, up Re0.01 from the previous 10:30am rate against the US dollar.
The rupee was slightly stronger against the US dollar the day before, ending at 283.66 in the interbank market, up Re0.26 or 0.09%.
Ishaq Dar, the federal minister for revenue and finance, declared on Thursday that “all technical-level discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)” were over.
“The IMF is demanding, what was committed during the fifth and sixth review of the bailout,” Dar said. “The lender wants guarantees of three billion dollars from the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” the finance minister told the Senate.
Additionally, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign currency holdings decreased by $354 million, falling to $4.2 billion as of March 24, according to information made public on Thursday.
Following six consecutive weeks of gains, this week saw the first weekly decrease in central bank-held reserves. Around one month’s worth of import cover puts the total amount at a critical level.
Globally, the US dollar was headed for its second straight quarterly loss on Friday as investors expected a decline in the dollar’s yield advantage and noted US interest rates approaching their peak.
A modest boost from a rush to safety around mid-March as banking jitters hit global markets seems to be fading, and the dollar index is down 1.3% for the quarter.
The expectation that the Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates has decreased significantly through March, with the US interest rate markets currently estimating it to be 40% likely. By year’s close, rate reductions are priced into Fed funds futures.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, climbed in early Asian trade on Friday as sentiment was boosted by an expansion in factory activity in China, the world’s second-largest crude consumer, and as concerns grew about Middle Eastern supply.
