The Pakistani rupee maintained an upward trend against the US dollar, appreciating nearly 0.66% during the early hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
At around 10am, the rupee was being quoted at 284.73, an improvement of Rs1.89.
This comes a day after the rupee recovered some ground against the US dollar, settling at 286.62 in the inter-bank market after a gain of Rs1.81 or 0.63%.
In a key development, an official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed confidence that the staff-level agreement (SLA) will be signed soon followed by the IMF Board’s approval, as per a statement released by the Finance Division.
The statement comes after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar attended the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings through Zoom from Islamabad. The Finance Division said Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, also hoped Pakistan would continue its progress on the reforms in various sectors.
The resumption of the IMF programme, which has been stalled since November last year, remains crucial for the cash-strapped economy.
Globally, the US dollar was on the back foot on Thursday after cooler-than-anticipated US inflation data lifted risk sentiment and stoked expectations that the Federal Reserve will be done with its monetary tightening after hiking one last time next month.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, eased 0.03% to 101.44, hovering around a one-week low of 101.40 after sinking 0.6% overnight.
The Consumer Price Index climbed 0.1% last month after advancing 0.4% in February, with a decline in gasoline prices offset by higher rental costs.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, retreated on Thursday after rising for two sessions, with investors still showing lingering concern over a possible US recession and weaker oil demand.
This is an intra-day update
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