KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s China visit did not work well in the currency market as the dollar appreciated against the rupee for the second day on Thursday.

The State Bank of Pakistan reported that the greenback closed at Rs221.95 after gaining 52 paise against the local currency. The dollar appreciated by 78 paise on Wednesday reflecting no impact of high hopes being attached to the PM’s visit to China.

Both the currency markets are short of dollars and the government has not disclosed the details of the Chinese visit. However, the currency market expects Beijing would roll over its debt to help Pakistan fulfil its foreign debt obligations but so far no indication has come out from the government side.

Reserves rise

Separately, the central bank reported that its foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.47 billion to $8.9bn during the week ended on Oct 28.

The increase was due to the inflow of $1.5bn from the Asian Development Bank. Pakistan has already received $1.2bn from IMF.

The country’s total reserves increased to $14.678bn while the holdings of the commercial banks were $5.766bn during the week.

While it is hard to find dollars in the kerb market. The greenback gained 75 paise to close at Rs227.75.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2022