The rupee strengthened against the US dollar at Rs170.48 in the inter-bank market on Friday compared with Thursday’s close of Rs170.66, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
On September 30, 2021, Pakistani currency closed at an all-time low of Rs170.66 in the wake of rising demand for the foreign currency to pay for imports.
The rupee has maintained its downturn since hitting 22-month high of Rs152.27 in May 2021. The SBP injected $1.2 billion into the inter-bank market to defend the rupee in the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 and has pumped a total of $5.8 billion since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came to power in August 2018.
The SBP let the rupee depreciate massively in the inter-bank market after finalisation of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan programme on May 12, 2019.
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 and other major world currencies.
