The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.05% during the early hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
The rupee was relatively stable the day before, rising by Re0.03 (or 0.01%) to settle at 283.55 in the interbank market.
The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) plan of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been eagerly awaited by the market.
In a significant move, the IMF reportedly agreed to the new programme on Tuesday but requested a step-by-step guarantee “fulfilled from friendly countries before it releases bailout funds,” according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“We are hopeful that the commitments from friendly countries will also be done,” the prime minister said.
Internationally, the safe-haven US dollar continued to decline on Wednesday after two days of losses as the world’s financial markets regained some stability in the hopes of avoiding full-blown banking disasters.
Early Asian trading saw the dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six significant rivals, remain unchanged after falling by about 0.3% over the previous two sessions.
The decline in demand for the safest investments is also the cause of the weakness, which occurs despite an increase in US Treasury yields.
A halt to some exports from Iraqi Kurdistan raised concerns about tightening supplies, and worries about a global banking crisis subsided as oil prices, a crucial indicator of currency parity, increased for a third session on Wednesday.
