Budget 2018-19

  The Saudi money will help Pakistan shore up its foreign reserves, which have been shrinking. Pakistan’s currency bounced back on Wednesday to gain 2.48 rupees against the US dollar in intra-day trading, after long-time ally  Saudi Arabia  announced a support package of $4.2 billion, traders and bankers said. The Saudi money will help  Pakistan  shore up its foreign reserves, which have been shrinking. The rupee closed the previous session at 175.60 against the dollar. It had depreciated around 13.6 per cent since May. “The rupee appreciation is result of the Saudi funding announcement, widely seen as a positive surprise much needed to bolster the external account,” Saad Hashemy, executive director at BMA Capital, said. Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday $3 billion to support Pakistan’s foreign reserves, as well as extending financing of oil derivatives trade for a total of $1.2 billion during the year, Pakistan’s Information Min­ister Fawad Chaudhry s...

  Last month, Fitch Ratings revised down its forecasts for the Pakistani rupee for both this year and next due to a variety of factors Pakistan’s rupee hit a record low on Monday of 173.20 in intra-day trading against the dollar before closing at 172.78, below the previous close of 171.18, after reports of a failure of talks with the International Monetary Fund, traders said. The government’s finance ministry on Monday dismissed reports by local media over the weekend that talks from October 4 to 15 for the release of a $1 billion loan tranche were inconclusive. “Negotiations between Pakistan and IMF are moving forward positively. No timeframe was set at any stage for the conclusion of the talks,” the finance ministry said. In June, a similar round of talks between the two sides had failed. Last month, Fitch Ratings revised down its forecasts for the  Pakistan Economy  for both this year and next due to a variety of factors, including an increased flow of US dollars into ...