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Rupee snaps 13-day winning streak against dollar

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  • Rupee closes at Rs217.88 against US dollar.
  • Drop in inflows changed sentiment in interbank makret.
  • Analyst says next direction could be news driven — good or bad.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s currency depreciated 0.04 % (or Rs0.10) to Rs217.88 against the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday, ending its appreciation streak that continued for 13 consecutive working days.

The local currency had closed near a one-and-a-half-month high at Rs217.79 on Tuesday, according to the central bank.

It regained a cumulative 10.01% (or Rs21.92) in the past 13 successive working days till Tuesday, dropping close to the all-time low of Rs239.94 last month.

The currency on Wednesday recorded its first depreciation in the past two weeks after worker remittances slowed down 12.3% year-on-year to $2.4 billion and export earnings in September.

The drop in inflows changed sentiment in the interbank market and encouraged importers to buy dollars at the prevailing rate before it became expensive.

Earlier, the rupee emerged as the best-performing currency in the world last week after it notched up one of the largest gains of 3.9% in the week ended October 7 compared to all other currencies on the Bloomberg terminal.

The excessive supply of dollars in the market helped the rupee to stage a 13-day-long rally. However, the supply of foreign currency decelerated after the sluggish data on worker remittances.

Economic analyst Ali Khizar noted that the appreciation trend of the local unit is “arrested” as it closed within a range of 217.8-218 in the last three working days.

“In this week, the inflows in the form of exporters selling in forward and incremental remittances have declined significantly,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that the next direction could be news driven — good or bad.

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Donald Lu visits Finance Minister Aurangzeb at the World Bank headquarters.

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Wednesday saw Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb meet US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst.

The finance minister briefed US officials on Pakistan’s reform plan at the World Bank. Meeting both delegations decided to improve bilateral ties.

Meeting topics included alternative energy, agriculture, climate, and tech industry. Boosting the Pakistan-US economic partnership was another finance ministry priority.

With US officials, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb addressed IT, agriculture, and other business potential.

Pakistan would collaborate with the US International Development Finance Corporation and Exim Bank, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb.

His name is Donald Lu.
Over 30 years of US government service for Lu as a foreign service officer.

What Pakistan calls the “cipher” dispute involves the American official. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder claimed that a supposed official letter between Washington and Islamabad proved his ousting as PM was a US conspiracy.

Washington has strongly refuted Khan’s allegations.

The State Department’s top South and Central Asia diplomat is Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state.

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Huge investment potential exists in the telecom and IT sectors. Shaza Fatima

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According to Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, there are numerous investment prospects in Pakistan’s IT and telecom sectors.

She noted that the current administration is dedicated to fostering foreign investment in the nation, in line with the Prime Minister’s goal.

According to a news release, CEOs Wateen Adil Rashid and Muhammad Shahbaz Khan of Taavun (Pvt) Limited, who paid her a visit on Tuesday, spoke with Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

She declared that the private sector would receive complete support because it is essential to growing our exports.

Regarding youngsters, she stated that they are our greatest asset and that efforts are being made to further their growth.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates was thanked by Shaza Fatima for his particular interest in promoting additional investment in Pakistan’s telecom industry.

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WB pledges complete support for changes aimed at stabilizing Pakistan’s economy.

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Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, according to a press release from the ministry of finance here. During the meeting, the minister discussed Pakistan’s progress under the nine-month Standby Arrangement (SBA) program as well as ongoing reforms in priority areas of taxation, energy, and privatization.

According to the statement, the minister also extended an invitation to the president to visit Pakistan, and both parties acknowledged the necessity of a rolling 10-year country framework plan.

The minister also talked on safeguarding Pakistan’s eligibility for concessional funding and future project pipeline during a meeting with Masatsugu Asakawa, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The chief executive officer of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Scott Nathan, also met with the minister of finance.

They discussed during the conference how DFC may increase its investments in Pakistan after resolving unresolved conflicts in a cooperative manner.

According to the minister, the government is supporting creative financing strategies to maximize PPP potential and private sector participation.

According to the statement, he gave his word that the government will do everything in its power to assist investment projects by both foreign and local businesses in Pakistan.

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