Rupee's Remarkable Renaissance

Zafra · March 13, 2014, 6:16pm

Re: Rupee’s Remarkable Renaissance

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Pakistani rupee sees sharp growth against US dollar**

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar today said the rupee will strengthen further as it continued to appreciate against the US dollar in the open currency market as well as in interbank trading, taking everyone by surprise.

Currently, the interbank trading rate of the Pakistani rupee is 97.30 per US dollar. Last week, it was trading at about 105.

In an interview, Dar said all out efforts are being made to stabilise the Pakistani currency.

Dealers and market analysts say positive sentiments have helped the Pakistani rupee make big gains against the dollar in the foreign exchange market after it had slipped to as low as 111 last November.

Several measures by the government including ban on import of gold, and higher investment inflows have helped strengthen the rupee, according to state-run Radio Pakistan.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan‚ the country received foreign direct investment of USD 523 million in the first seven months of current fiscal year with USD 106.9 million in the month of January alone.

Source

I once thought that nothing less than a huge oil discovery would bring the dollar back below the 100 mark, but Ishaq Dar seems to have done wonders with the rupee by strengthening it against the greenback.

The US currency lost some of its sheen against almost all Asian currencies this week, Pakistani rupee also benefited from the overall weakness of the greenback. While the development is being cheered across the country, and rightly so, some questions are also there about the sudden rise of the rupee.

The mysterious arrival of $1.5 billion into Pakistan’s kitty remains to be explained. Some quarters are terming the money a reward by two Arab states for convincing Islamabad to do something it wasn’t willing to do.

Has Pakistan agreed to pay a political price to jack up its currency? Let us launch our conspiracy theories

When the US does it we all praise Musharraf. When Nawaz Sharif does it for Arabs we question it.

People have serious issues regarding skin color and ethnicity.