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KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan's rupee has gained 6.1% against the dollar so far in September, following an official clampdown on illegal foreign exchange trade in grey and black markets by security agencies. September's gains have almost made up for all of the rupee's losses in August and technically make it the best-perfoming currency in the world this month. The Pakistani rupee closed 0.3% up in the interbank market at 287.8 per dollar on Thursday. The crackdown on black market operators against the informal market resulted in tens of millions of dollars pouring back into Pakistan's interbank and open markets, dealers said. "The rupee has indeed performed well but this data does not reflect the sharp depreciation preceding this performance.

Persons: Fahad Rauf, Ismail Iqbal, Rauf, Ariba Shahid, Jane Merriman, Sharon Singleton, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Finance Ministry, Research, Ismail, Ismail Iqbal Securities, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Karachi

Tens of millions of dollars have poured back into Pakistan's interbank and openmarkets, dealers say, since raids on black market operators began on Sept. 6. Ninety percent were going to black market dealers, cutting our supply of foreign exchange," Bostan explained. While a crackdown on the black market was needed to stabilise the rupee, it "is a temporary fix," said Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities. High inflation and chronic external deficits lie at the heart of the currency's problem, and closing off people's access to black market dollars risks storing up pent-up demand. "There is an unprecedented demand for the dollar," Hanifullah Mohmand, a trader in the Peshawar market, said.

Persons: Akhtar Soomro, Asim Munir, Malik Bostan, Bostan, General Munir, Haji Luqman Khan, Sheikh Allauddin, ECAP, Fahad Rauf, Ismail Iqbal, Ariba Shahid, Mushtaq Ali, Gibran Peshimam, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Pakistan, Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, Reuters, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Inter, Services Intelligence, ISI, Locals, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Research, Ismail, Ismail Iqbal Securities, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, KARACHI, PESHAWAR, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Afghanistan

It is not the end of our relationship with the IMF though, as the SBA is a short-term bridging operation. GARETH LEATHER, SENIOR ASIA ECONOMIST AT CAPITAL ECONOMICS, LONDON"The agreement of a loan deal between Pakistan and the IMF should put the economy back on a more secure footing and limit the biggest downside risks. There is a strong risk that Pakistan reneges on the deal once the immediate crisis has passed. Our target shall be that the next IMF programme should be the last one and it would be a great opportunity to correct our fiscal account once and for all." "Things would have been much better if successive governments would have invested in completing the IMF programme.

Persons: MURTAZA SYED, GARETH, Shehbaz Sharif, ABDUL ALEEM, SHERANI, SHAHBAZ ASHRAF, MAHA RAHMAN, ZAFAR MASUD, MUSTAFA PASHA, SHAHID HABIB, ARIF HABIB, ZULQARNAIN, MOHAMMED SOHAIL, AHFAZ MUSTAFA, ISMAIL IQBAL, SAJID AMIN JAVED, Ariba Shahid, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Monetary Fund, South, IMF, BANK OF PAKISTAN, SBA, State Bank, EFF, Capital, UL HAQ, OF PUNJAB, Pakistan, ARIF, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, ASIA, KARACHI, ISLAMABAD, LAHORE, PAKISTAN

☆ Pakistan central bank raises main interest rate by 100 bps to 22%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Karachi, PAKISTAN, June 26 (Reuters) - Pakistan's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 22% at an emergency meeting on Monday, a day after the country revised its budget for the fiscal year from July 1 in a bid to rescue an IMF programme that expires in days. The central bank has now raised its main rate by 12.25 percentage points since April 2022, mainly to curb soaring inflation. "The MPC views this action as necessary to keep real interest rate firmly in positive territory on a forward-looking basis," the central bank said in a statement. On June 12 the central bank had left its key rate unchanged. The KSE100 index on the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed up 3.42% on expectations of a deal begin reached with the IMF.

Persons: Fahad Rauf, Ismail Iqbal, Shivam Patel, Sanjeev Miglani, Hugh Lawson Organizations: IMF, Analysts, International Monetary Fund, MPC, Ismail, Ismail Iqbal Securities, Pakistan Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: Karachi, PAKISTAN, New Delhi, Shahid

Experts have mixed reactions on whether the budget will meet IMF requirements and the impact on the economy. The ‘No new Taxes on Industry’ claim is belied by increase in super tax and that too in not a fully progressive way. Will retailers and the agri sectors that together contribute 40% contribute more than 2% as a result of the budget? SHAHBAZ ASHRAF, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT FRIM VENTURES“It is surely not a budget that the IMF would approve of. "The regional energy price budget, which has built in cross subsidies, general collection and distribution losses is something the export industry cannot sustain."

Persons: GHIAS KHAN, EHSAN MALIK, SHAHID HABIB, ARIF HABIB, ZULQARNAIN, ABDUL ALEEM, IRFAN IQBAL SHEIKH, MUSTAFA PASHA, SHAHBAZ ASHRAF, they've, There's, ” FAHAD RAUF, ISMAIL IQBAL, GOHAR EJAZ, Ariba Shahid, Jonathan Oatis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: International Monetary Fund, IMF, Pakistan, Reuters, FX, ENGRO CORP, OF, PAKISTAN BUSINESS, Industry, PAKISTAN, Company, FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN, OF COMMERCE, PKR, IN, MILLS ASSOCIATION, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, PAKISTAN, Karachi

☆ Pakistan's Honda Atlas shuts production to end-March on import difficulties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, March 8 (Reuters) - Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Ltd has announced the longest plant shutdown to date in the current economic crisis amongst the country's automakers, which are struggling to obtain raw materials due to import difficulties. The company, a unit of Japanese car giant Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T), said its plant would shut from March 9, 2023, to March 31, 2023. Other listed-automakers, such as Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC), have also been forced to halt production during the past three quarters due to Pakistan's economic difficulties, which have seen central bank foreign exchange reserves drop to a level barely able to cover four weeks of imports. “Pakistan has limited dollars and until reserves improve to at least two months’ worth of import cover, import restrictions would likely continue.”Other manufacturing halts in the sector have been between two and 16 days. Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pakistan central bank may hike rates another 200 bps to unlock IMF funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, PAKISTAN, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan’s central bank is widely expected to raise its key policy rate by 200 basis points in an off-cycle meeting on Thursday as it struggles to unlock critical funding from the IMF, a Reuters poll showed. All sixteen economists and market watchers surveyed said there would be a hike -- 14 of them predicted 200 basis points (bps), while two expected 250 bps. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has raised rates by 725 bps since January 2022. In its last policy meeting in January, the bank raised the key rate by 100 bps to 17%, citing inflationary pressure. He said the market had already incorporated a 200 bps hike in the last treasury bill auction where the government accepted bids with yields more than 200 bps higher than the policy rate.

☆ Pakistan set to increase interest rates in off-cycle review, say investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Market participants in a recent treasury bill auction are expecting at least a 200 basis points increase in the central bank's policy rate, which stands at 17%. The expected increase is based on the rates the Pakistan government set in the auction to raise the funds. The cut off rates for the three-month, six-month, and 12-month tenors jumped 195 bps, 206 bps, and 184 bps higher than the previous auction. While the government expects a deal with IMF soon, media reports say that the agency expects the policy rate to be increased. “Pakistan has two core inflation readings i.e., Urban (15.4% for Jan-23) and Rural (19.4%) and no national core number is released.

The Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) said late on Tuesday it was lifting the cap on the currency in the interest of the country. Before the cap on the rupee was removed, markets eyed three different rates to assess its value -- the state bank's official rate, the one assessed by the foreign exchange companies and the black market rate. He said the removal of the cap would curb the black market. "The black market rate is still sticky in the range of 260-270. The decision of exchange companies has not had any impact as such," said Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities.

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