KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee Tuesday closed unchanged against the US dollar in the interbank market as demand for the dollar and the supply reached equilibrium.
The local unit closed at 223.95 per dollar, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which had finished the session at the same value on Monday — after depreciating Re0.01.
Currency dealers don’t see the rupee going far from the base as they are currently assessing the impact of the $500 million inflows received from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Tuesday.
The SBP received $500 million from the AIIB, confirmed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Tuesday.
“Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has transferred today, as per their Board’s approval, to State Bank of Pakistan/Government of Pakistan US $ 500 million as program financing,” tweeted the finance minister.
Moreover, dealers said a delay in the arrival of a tranche of the IMF’s Extended Funding Facility may weigh on the rupee-dollar parity in the days to come. Pakistan and the IMF talks are continuing, with both sides yet to strike a broader agreement on a revised macroeconomic framework for the current financial year. –Agencies
