The Pakistani rupee pressed ahead with its winning ways as it bulldozed the US dollar once again in the interbank market on Thursday. As per the information receiving from the forex dealers, the local currency marched ahead with a gain of Rs1.40 against the greenback as was at present being traded at Rs260.50. On Wednesday, the Pakistani rupee was back to winning ways against the US dollar, as the local currency settled with a gain of 0.23% in the inter-bank market. The rupee closed the day at 261.90 against the US dollar, an increase of 61 paisas. In a related development, Pakistan expects to conclude talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a staff-level agreement as soon as this week, the country’s finance secretary said, in a crucial step towards unlocking funds to battle an economic crisis.

“The consultations with the IMF are in the final stages. We expect to conclude the consultations soon, even within the week,” Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, the top official in the finance ministry, told Reuters. In another positive development, Federal Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar had disclosed that China will extend $700 million assistance to Pakistan. In a tweet uploaded on Wednesday, Ishaq Dar said formalities have been completed and Board of China Development Bank has approved the facility of US$700 million for Pakistan. The finance minister said that this amount is expected to be received this week by the State Bank of Pakistan which will shore up its forex reserves.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP