The Pakistani rupee kept up the momentum of its upward trajectory against the US dollar as the local unit was appreciated by Rs1.63 in the interbank trading on Friday. According to money dealers, the rupee sailed smoothly during the morning trade and gained Rs1.63 in its value against the greenback which was being exchanged for Rs262.75.

On Thursday, the US dollar was depreciated by Re1 and culminated the day at Rs264.38. As the government is steadfast in reaching an agreement with the IMF for the resumption of stalled $1.2 billion tranche and is making progress on the implementation of prior actions as demanded by the global lender, the market anticipates a possible deal between the two.

Things are progressing positively with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sources in the federal finance ministry said on Thursday. The IMF was informed about government actions and the progress on the implementation of the conditions, the insiders said as Pakistan and the Fund resumed their virtual talks over the release of the ninth tranche of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

They added that the process of implementing conditions for an early agreement with the IMF has been expedited and the ninth review is expected to be successfully completed soon. The government has increased the prices of electricity, gas and petrol while a mini-budget featuring taxation measures of Rs170 billion, was presented in Parliament under IMF conditions.

The sales tax rate on all items increased from 17 to 18 per cent while the revised circular debt management plan has been approved, the ministry officials said. According to a report, Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh said: “Duration (of the talks) cannot be confirmed but we intend to wrap these up at the soonest”. The IMF, however, said in an earlier statement that both sides had agreed to stay engaged and “virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalise the implementation details” of the policies discussed in Islamabad.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP