KARACHI: The US dollar on Friday depreciated as the Pakistani rupee gained 73 paisa against the greenback in the interbank market and traded at Rs157.50.
According to details, the dip in the US dollar has reduced the debt burden by Rs 600 billion. It is worth mentioning here that the greenback had reached all-time high of Rs164.25 in the interbank market on June 27 this year, and has downed by Rs6.75 since its peak.
In the earlier weeks, the rupee had been observed to cumulatively depreciate against the greenback, which in turn had resulted in increased prices of goods and hardships for the general public.
The SBP let the rupee depreciate significantly in the interbank market after finalizing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan program on May 12.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to end state control of the rupee and let the currency move freely to find its equilibrium against the US dollar.
On the other hand, the World Bank Group has also supported the idea of leaving the rupee free from state control in an attempt to give much-needed boost to exports and fix a faltering economy.
In previous weeks, the local currency depreciated massively despite receiving the first tranche of $991.4 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The stringent conditions – on which the global moneylender has formally approved the bailout package of $6 billion for Pakistan – seem to have exerted more pressure on the local currency.
The gradual drop in the rupee had come due to high demand for the dollar against thin supply as the country continued to make aggressive international payments to partially pay off huge foreign debt and for imports.
