The rupee has gone up to Rs276.58 after it lost Rs5.22 of its value closed at 283 rupees in the open market following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s disclosure that the IMF is giving a very tough time to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar during their ongoing talks in Islamabad.
KARACHI: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Feb 3rd, 2023) The rupee on Friday went down historic low against the the US after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif unveiled that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was giving Pakistan “a tough time”.
The State Bank of Pakistan said that the rupee went up to Rs276.58 as it lost Rs5.22 or 1.89% of its value, and closed at 283 rupees in the open market.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier stated that the international lender gave a “very tough time” to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team during their ongoing talks on Extended Funds Facility in Islamabad.
“Our economic challenge at this time is unimaginable,” the PM was quoted as saying.
He said that the conditions they had to fulfil [to complete the IMF review] were beyond imagination.
The PM was of the view that the country did not have any choice but to implement the conditions. He was addressing an Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar.
The IMF delegation led by Nathan Porter and the government are holding talks on revival of the stalled Extended Funds Facility. The ninth review is very important for Pakistan to escape default.
The country’s reserves have depleted critically low level of $3.09 billion as of Jan 27, according to the reports, which could hardly be sufficient for only 18 days of imports. The successful talks with the IMF would open many other options for Pakistan.
