- Pakistan Rupee (PKR) edges lower paring gains
- Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves decline 0.75%
- US Dollar (USD) trades higher across the board
- US PPI inflation jumps
The US Dollar Pakistan Rupee (USD/PKR) exchange rate is advancing on Friday snapping a two day losing streak. The pair settled -0.15% lower in the previous session at 152.06. At 15:30 UTC, USD/PKR trades +0.47% at 152.77. The pair is on track to lose 1.3% across the week, the third straight week of losses.
The Pakistan Rupee heads lower, despite domestic equities jumping northwards. The Benchmark Karachi 100 rallied for a second straight session on Friday adding 1% to yesterday’s 1.8% gains on optimism surrounding the upcoming corporate earning season.
Separately, Pakistan has agreed to meet a list of conditions to remain on the $6 billion IMF programme. However, Pakistan’s economic endurance depends on the continuation of a $11 billion lifeline from China.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserve fell by $157 million or 0.75% to record at $20.679 billion in the week ending April 2.
The US Dollar is trading higher across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades +0.2% at the time of writing at 92.24. Despite today’s gains, the US Dollar is hovering around a two week low and is set for its largest weekly loss since mid-December.
The US Dollar is trading on the front foot following strong inflation data. The Producer Price Index (PPI) which measures inflation at wholesale level jumped 1% month on month in March, up from 0.5% in February and double the 0.5% forecast.
On an annual basis, inflation jumped 4.2% in March, up from 2.8% and well ahead of the 3.5% forecast.
The data revealed that prices grew at the fastest clip in 9.5 years, fitting in with expectations of higher inflation as the US economy reopens.
