As the government prepares to present a mini-budget in accordance with the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Pakistani rupee surged more versus the dollar on Wednesday, continuing its winning streak in the interbank market.
According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee increased 1.96 or 0.74% against the dollar in the interbank market to settle at 265.38, up from yesterday's close of 267.34.
The government is making the required preparations to satisfy the requirements laid forth by the international lender in order to restart the loan programme, according to capital market analyst Saad Ali, who was speaking with The News.
According to him, this is what is causing people to be upbeat about the IMF program's restart, which will work to rebuild the nation's foreign exchange reserves through multilateral and bilateral aid.
As of February 3, the SBP's foreign exchange holdings stood at $2,916.7 million, just enough to finance imports for about three weeks.
"The administration is moving quickly to take necessary steps, which is bringing Pakistan's return to the IMF programme closer. Additionally, the distance between the official and informal markets is closing, according to Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, who spoke to The News on Tuesday.
The Finance Bill 2023, which would enable the government to levy Rs170 billion in taxes in accordance with the IMF's demands, will be presented to the parliament later today by the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration. If approved by Thursday, it is anticipated.
After 10 days of in-person deliberations in Islamabad last week on how to keep the country afloat came to an end without a settlement, Pakistan and the IMF have begun virtual negotiations.
The economy of the nation is in shambles, suffering from a balance-of-payments crisis as it struggles to pay off a sizable amount of external debt amidst political unrest and deteriorating security.
The terms for the $1.1 billion loan installment were previously described as "beyond conception" by PM Shehbaz.
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