Dollar soars to a new historic high of Rs278
Dollar soars to historic high after PM’s comments, 'IMF giving Pakistan tough time'
Dollar soars to a new historic high of Rs278 on Friday.
During intra-day trade, the local currency was changing hands at 278.67 against the greenback at 12:48 pm, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), up from Rs 271.35 a day earlier.
The new historic surge in the US Dollar rate came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is giving Pakistan “a tough time” — as the lender wants the government to do more on the economic front.
“As we speak, an IMF delegation is in Islamabad [holding parleys on loan programme] and giving a very tough time to the finance minister and his team,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said while speaking at the Apex committee meeting in Peshawar.
“Our economic challenge at this moment is unimaginable. The conditions we have to fulfil [to complete the IMF review] are beyond imagination,” he said without elaborating.
However, the country had no choice but to implement the conditions, PM Shehbaz acknowledged.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is visiting the country for discussions on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme.
