Karachi: The Pakistani currency kept going up for the third day in a row because of a rise in foreign currency coming in. On Thursday, it hit a six-week high of just over Rs283.50 against the US dollar on the interbank market.
The local gold market also saw a big rise. On the same day, gold prices in Pakistan hit almost a week’s high of Rs218,300 per tola (11.66 grams), which was in line with trends around the world.
The All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association said that the price of the metal rose by 2.68%, or Rs5,700 per tola, on Thursday. This came after the price of the metal rose by 2.70%, or $54, to $2,052 per ounce (31.10 grams) on the world market.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) says that the value of the Pakistani rupee rose by 0.04%, or Rs10, and ended the day at Rs283.51 per US dollar.
The value of the rupee has gone up by 0.75%, or Rs2.13, over the last three weeks, with only a small drop of Rs0.03 on Thursday.
It was recently predicted by Caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar that Pakistan would get $4.5 billion from international and bilateral creditors in the current fiscal year 2023–2024 (July–Juny).
The latest events are likely to help the country’s foreign exchange reserves (held by SBP) reach the goal level of $9 billion by the end of June 30, 2024. This is up from a little over $7 billion now, and will make the rupee stronger against the US dollar in the medium term.
The Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) said that the open market value of the rupee stayed the same at Rs284.50/$ for the second day in a row.
The recent wave of mergers and acquisitions in the country, such as PTCL’s acquisition of Telenor for about $400 million with money from outside the country, has also made people feel better about the currency markets. Aramco, the biggest oil company in Saudi Arabia, said earlier that it would spend $100 million in GO, a Pakistani retail energy company.
