Business

Rupee races past 300 shattering all records against dollar

Published

9 months ago

Farwa

Greenback closes at Rs300.22 in the interbank market.
Interbank market trying to catch up with kerb market: expert.
“Dropping exports, remittances causing dollar liquidity crunch”.

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee breached the 300 mark against the US dollar in the interbank market during the intraday trade Thursday, data from the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) showed.

The pressure has increased on the local unit — which closed at the historic low of 300.22 today — as demand grew for the greenback following the relaxation of import restrictions and rising risks associated with financing the country’s current account deficit.

According to ECAP, the USD is trading at Rs316 against the local currency in the open market taking the difference between the interbank and kerb rates to Rs15.75 — 5.25%.

On Wednesday, the currency fell to 299.64 against the USD, 0.21% lower from Tuesday’s close of 299.01.

Economic expert and former adviser to finance minister Dr Khaqan Najeeb told Geo.tv that pressure from the release of already parked containers and dropping exports and remittances are causing a dollar liquidity crunch in the economy.

The interbank market, he said, is also trying to catch up with the kerb market as Pakistan has agreed to a structural benchmark with the International Monetary Fund of keeping the two markets with a difference which can not be more the 1.25% on the average in five days.

“The open markets are also supply constrained but the demand stays high because the part of imports that are not fulfilled by the interbank market are also taken care of at the kerb market and because of the dollarisation because many people tend to feel that dollar is a storer value and best to hold.”

The expert also pointed out that the monetary policy has fallen behind in creating an impact on people wanting to hold the rupee as well.

He added that inflows have to increase at the interbank level which is the best way to ensure that the Pakistan rupee tends to stabilise

“Also the certainty on the economic plan and the future planned inflows will also help as the next tranche may not be due in the coming months,” he said.

Business

Pakistan’s gold prices are still declining; see the most recent

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

The price of 10-gram gold reduced by Rs943 to settle at Rs207,733, while the price of gold dropped by Rs1200 to close at Rs242,300 a tola, according to the Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

In the global market, the price of the precious metal fell by $10 to $2,349 per ounce, resulting in losses.

At 04:48 GMT, the spot price of gold had dropped by 0.2% to $2,354.77 per ounce. In the previous session, prices reached a two-week high.

American gold futures dropped 0.6% to $2,361.

Spot silver decreased by 0.4% to $28.03 per ounce, while palladium remained steady at $978.03 and platinum decreased by 0.1% to $992.89.

Business

Pakistan and the IMF begin talks for a new loan.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Pakistan is requesting a $6 to $8 billion bailout package from the international lender over the next three to four years to address its financial troubles.

A mission team led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief in Pakistan, is meeting with a Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Islamabad may face more difficult options, such as raising power and gas bills.

Mr. Aurganzeb informed the IMF team that the country’s economy has improved as a result of the IMF loan package, and Islamabad is ready to sign a new loan programme to further develop.

The IMF mission expressed satisfaction with Islamabad’s efforts to revive the country’s struggling economy.

The IMF praised Pakistan’s economic growth in its staff report earlier this week, but warned that the outlook remains challenging, with very high downside risks.

The country nearly avoided collapse last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized since the end of the last IMF program, with inflation falling to roughly 17% in April from a record high of 38% last May.

Business

Petrol prices are likely to drop significantly beginning May 16.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

According to sources, the government is set to decrease petrol prices by Rs 14 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 10 on May 16 for the next fortnight’s revision.

Last month, the government reduced the price of fuel and high-speed diesel by Rs5.45 and Rs8.42 per fortnight, respectively.

The current fuel price is Rs288.49 per litre, while the HSD price is Rs281.96.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell further on Monday, as signs of sluggish fuel consumption and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials dimmed optimism for interest rate reduction, which may slow growth and reduce fuel demand in the world’s largest economy.

Brent crude prices down 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.07 per barrel.

Oil prices also declined on signals of poor demand, according to ANZ analysts, as gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States increased in the week before the start of the driving season.

Refiners throughout the world are dealing with falling diesel profitability as new refineries increase supply and warm weather in the northern hemisphere and weak economic activity reduce demand.