Pakistani rupee continues recovery: Central bank

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani rupee (PKR) has continued its recovery drive against the US dollar for a fifth consecutive working session in the interbank market, appreciating by more than 0.90 per cent, according to the country's central bank.

The greenback closed at 224.04 PKR on Friday from 226.15 PKR on Thursday when the local currency appreciated by 1.17 per cent as compared to the previous day, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed.

The US dollar lost more than 6 per cent of its value against the rupee during the last five trading sessions, with the PKR making huge single-day gains against the US dollar on Wednesday when it appreciated by more than 9 PKR in the interbank market, it said.

Earlier, the local currency had slumped by more than 13 per cent in the prior 10 consecutive working days, with an all-time low closing at 239.94 PKR on July 28, according to the SBP statistics.

According to the latest data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the trade deficit fell 18.3 per cent to $2.64 billion in July this year against $3.235 billion in July 2021.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said on Friday that the dollar outflows have been surpassing inflows, which is why the rupee had fallen sharply against the greenback last month.

In a bid to control the fall of local currency and maintain the balance of trade, the government would control imports for at least three months, he said, adding that Pakistan's import bill in June was $7.7 billion and if the current account deficit widened to such an extent, it would create pressure on the PKR.

"We do not want economic growth without exports. Growth is only favourable when it is export-oriented," the Minister added.