Pakistani Rupee Hits New Low Of 287.29 Against US Dollar As Islamabad Struggles To Secure IMF Bailout

Pakistan's currency hit a new low of Rs 287.29 against the US dollar on Tuesday as the country faces a cash crisis and struggles to secure crucial IMF funding.

The Pakistani rupee closed at 287.29 against the US dollar in the interbank market, which is down 0.78 per cent or Rs 2.25 from Monday's close of 285.04, Geo News reported.

Last month, the Pakistani rupee hit a record low of Rs 285.09 per USD on 2 March, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data.

The value of the Pakistani currency against Indian rupee has also widened in the last year.

On 5 April 2022, the value of one Indian Rupee was around 2.45 Pakistani rupee. However, today (5 April) one Indian Rupee is equal to 3.49 Pakistani rupee.

Financial importers are panic buying US dollars again as foreign currency supplies in the interbank market remain low, experts have stated.

Despite implementing some of the IMF's conditions, Pakistan still hasn't received its bailout as the loan programme is yet to materialise, and it has missed several deadlines.

In 2019, the financially struggling country obtained a $6 billion IMF bailout, which was supplemented by $1 billion last year to address flood damage. However, the IMF halted funding in November as Pakistan had not made adequate progress on fiscal consolidation.

The Washington-based lender had asked Pakistan to secure commitment for new loans from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before the bailout can be resumed.

Pakistan needs to finish some more tasks to meet the conditions for a $6.5 billion bailout, according to the IMF's representative.

Earlier last month, Sri Lanka received a $3 billion loan programme from the lender to alleviate its economic crisis.