By Syed Raza Hassan
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan’s rupee hit a record low on Wednesday, closing at 177.43 against the U.S. dollar, on the back of rising trade deficit, traders said.
Rupee closed at 176.79, in the previous session.
The Pakistan’s rupee has lost 12.6% of its value since July 1, the start of country’s fiscal year.
“The Pakistan rupee has been weak due to rising trade deficit as imports clocked in close to $8 billion for last month,” said Saad Hashemy, executive director at BMA Capital.
Government measures to control imports and the approval of International Monetary Fund Board funding along with that from other avenues, such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, should help in providing strength to the Pakistan rupee in the near term, Hashemy added.
Last month, the IMF agreed with Pakistan on measures needed to revive a stalled $6 billion funding programme.
The completion of the review, pending since earlier this year, would make available 750 million in IMF special drawing rights, or around $1 billion, bringing total disbursements so far to about $3 billion.
Pakistan also received a $3 billion loan from Saudi Arabia last week, as part of an economic support package. [L1N2SP05F]
The South Asian country has faced growing economic challenges, with high inflation, sliding forex reserves, a widening current account deficit and a depreciating currency.
(Reporting by Syed Raza Hassan; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
