Rupee strengthens to Rs160 against dollar in early day trade

Rupee strengthens to Rs160 against dollar in early day trade

KARACHI: The Pak Rupee has continued appreciation against dollar and strengthen by Rs1.13 in early trade on Wednesday.

The dollar is being traded at Rs160.00 in early trade from previous day’s closing of Rs161.13 in interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency experts said that positive sentiments prevailed in the market owing to significant decline in international oil prices which would help reduction in Pakistan’s oil import bill.

They said that Pakistan is net importer of international crude oil and finished petroleum products.

Brent crude is being trade at $16.89 per barrel after declining by around 13 percent.

Besides they said that the rupee continued gain against dollar as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) last week cut policy rate by 200 basis points to nine percent.

The central bank reduced the policy rate third time in last one month considering significant adverse effect of coronavirus on the economy,

Meanwhile last week the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a day earlier approved the disbursement of $1.386 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 shock.

The currency dealers said that the rupee may witness further appreciation in coming days due to falling international oil prices and reduction in non-oil imports.