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Pakistani rupee firms on IMF help; stocks flat
Reuters - 1 hour 11 minutes ago
By Sahar Ahmed
KARACHI, Nov 24 - The Pakistani rupee ended firmer on Monday on expectation the International Monetary Fund will approve a $7.6 billion stand-by arrangement for the country, dealers said.
IMF officials are due to meet in Washington on Monday to discuss a stand-by arrangement for Pakistan, according to the fund's Web site.
The rupee was quoted closing at 78.90/79.00 to the dollar compared with Saturday's close of 79.06/16.
"The rupee has been strengthening slowly for the past few days following the decision to enter an IMF programme," said a currency dealer.
The government said on Nov. 15 it was willing to accept an IMF loan package to avert a balance-of-payments crisis.
The loan should help the rupee stabilise, at least in the short-term, after a sharp depreciation this year as the balance of payments crisis developed, dealers said.
A first tranche from the IMF is expected to arrive by the end of the month. Government officials said it was likely to be between $3 billion and $3.5 billion.
The rupee has lost 22 percent against the dollar this year.
Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell $100 million to $6.64 billion in the week that ended on Nov. 15, the central bank said last week.
The State Bank of Pakistan's own reserves fell to $3.46 billion from $3.50 billion a week earlier, just enough to cover nine weeks worth of imports.
STOCKS IN LIMBO
Dealers said demand for the rupee had gone up because money changers, nervous about an investigation into illegal transfers abroad, were selling dollars in the interbank market.
The central bank suspended the license of a prominent foreign exchange company this month as part of its investigation into transfers [ID:nSIN8796].
Beset by its own problems, Pakistan has not suffered any direct impact from the worst global financial crisis in 80 years, although analysts say economic problems are likely to make potential donors think twice before helping Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari set off on an official two-day visit to the UAE on Monday. His meetings with leaders there are likely to focus on economic assistance.
Neither the IMF agreement nor the global crisis has had any impact on the stock market, which has been in limbo since a floor was placed on the main index at the end of August after it had fallen nearly 35 percent from the beginning of the year.
Stock trading has dried up and on Monday the Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index <.KSE> ended flat at 9,187.10 points, just 43 points above the floor. Only 100 shares were traded.
Dealers anticipate a sharp drop in the index when the floor is removed and they say stocks have been trading 30 to 40 percent lower in off-market transactions.
Exchange authorities have not said when the floor will be removed but dealers said it was unlikely to be this month.
In the money market, the central bank sold 20 billion rupees of Treasury bills under three-day repo contracts at 6.38 percent to mop up liquidity.
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