KARACHI: The rupee remained under pressure against the US dollar for the third consecutive session on Wednesday despite positive talks with the visiting Saudi delegation and International Monetary Fund.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported the dollar appreciated by another 11 paise against the local currency to Rs278.40 from Rs278.29 a day earlier.

Currency dealers said there was no obvious reason for the recent appreciating trend for the dollar. They maintained that the weaknesses in the exchange rate is known for years and the market behaves according the information about availability of the dollars in the market, reserves of the SBP and possibility of inflows in future.

The Saudi delegation has assured investment in Pakistan, but it may take time since the kingdom has initiated the groundwork for identifying sectors and projects for future investments. The Saudi government announced last year that it had changed its strategy to support Pakistan with loans, aid, or grants; instead, investments could be made to help the country.

However, the Saudi government has already placed $2bn in the account of the State Bank to support the weak foreign exchange reserves of the SBP. It did the same in the past.

Banking sources said the Saudi government had deposited $5bn in the SBP account.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2024