During Friday’s interbank trading, the Pakistani rupee remained basically stable against the US dollar.
Around 12:30 pm, the rupee was trading at 286.82, a Re0.01 drop.
On Thursday, the rupee snapped a four-session losing trend against the US dollar, closing at 286.81, up 0.07% in the interbank market.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that the newly elected government should negotiate a new contract with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
His comments occurred during the question-and-answer period that followed the release of the Economic Survey 2022-23.
“We are optimistic that the ninth review will be completed successfully, as it is critical for Pakistan.” Following that, it is only reasonable that any new programme with the IMF be negotiated by a new government after elections.
“It would be completely undemocratic and unfair to begin negotiations on a new programme at this point.” Let whoever wins the election make the decision. “They shouldn’t be bound,” Dar stated.
Globally, the US dollar fell on Friday, dragged down by lower US Treasury yields, as a surge in weekly unemployment claims raised traders’ hopes that a peak in US interest rates was close, as attention shifted to a busy week of central bank meetings.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to the highest in more than a year and a half last week, according to data released on Thursday, however layoffs are unlikely to have increased because the data included the Memorial Day vacation, which could have injected some volatility.
The dollar index was last at 103.35 in early Asia trade on Friday, having dropped more than 0.7% in the previous session, its biggest daily drop in weeks.
Oil prices, a major measure of currency parity, appeared ready to register their second consecutive weekly loss on Friday as prices fell further due to demand concerns and scepticism that the US and Iran could reach a nuclear deal.
