KARACHI: The Pakis­tani rupee recovered from a steep fall against the US dollar as the currency market noted highest day-to-day recovery when the dollar started losing its strong grip over the local currency on Wednesday and closed at a price of Rs172.78 from Rs175.27.

However, currency experts believe it is a temporary decline showing the direct impact of Saudi facilities, which raised the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank and boosted the sentiment of the currency market.

The Saudi Development Fund in late hours of Tuesday evening announced for Pakistan an oil deferred payment facility of $1.2 billion per annum and a $3bn deposit with the State Bank. The late night report impacted the morning trading and the dollar depreciated by 1.4 per cent, causing the importers to book more for the future.

Bankers in the inter-bank trading, however, were not surprised at the depreciation as they saw rush for dollars was still high while expecting the price would go higher within a few weeks.

Since May, the US dollar has appreciated by 11.86pc against Pak rupee while it has gained 8.82pc during the current fiscal year FY22.

“If the negotiation with IMF succeeded with soft terms and conditions, the exchange rate may get stability for a longer period than the predictions of currency experts,” said Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the inter-bank.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2021