Karachi: Rupee maintained its upward trajectory against dollar, appreciating 0.6 percent in inter-bank market. According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), domestic unit settled at 284.91, an increase of Rs 1.71. In key development, an official of International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed confidence that staff-level agreement (SLA) will be signed soon followed by IMF Board’s approval, as per statement released by Finance Division.

Statement came after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar attended IMF-World Bank Spring meetings through Zoom from Islamabad. Finance Division said Jihad Azour, Director of Middle East and Central Asia Department at IMF, also hoped Pakistan would continue its progress on reforms in various sectors.

Resumption of the IMF programme, which has been stalled since November last year, remains crucial for cash-strapped economy. Globally, dollar was on back foot after cooler-than-anticipated US inflation data lifted risk sentiment and stoked expectations that Federal Reserve will be done with its monetary tightening after hiking one last time next month. Dollar index, which measures currency against six major peers, eased 0.03 percent to 101.44, hovering around a one-week low of 101.40 after sinking 0.6 percent overnight.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 14 2023

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