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(MANEND NEWS): The Pakistani rupee improved against the US dollar during the opening hours of trading in the open-market on Monday.
Currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to during the trading session said the rupee was quoted at 293 for selling and 290 for buying purposes for customers in the open market.
During the previous week, the PKR gained 3.50 rupees for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 290.50 and 293.50, respectively, in the open market.
The rupee’s rate in the open market has become stronger, reducing the ‘premium’ to negligible values and meeting the benchmark set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In the inter-bank market, the currency was hovering at the 290 level.
The rupee has been on a merry run in recent weeks, which comes on the back of a countrywide crackdown against illegal exchanges and smugglers of currencies by law enforcement agencies.
Apart from the government’s administrative actions, the State Bank of Pakistan also announced structural reforms, directing commercial banks to establish their own ECs as fully-owned subsidiaries.
However, concerns remain over Pakistan’s foreign reserves, which are still not high enough, but the country’s caretaker administration is confident inflows from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank along with the IMF’s second tranche of the Stand-By Arrangement – expected after the review in November – will shore up reserves.
Meanwhile, eyes will be on remittance inflows and the current account balance in the coming months.