RECORDER REVIEW

KARACHI: Pakistan rupee posted marginal gain for another week as it appreciated by Re0.06 or 0.02 percent against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.

The local unit closed at 280.25, against 280.31 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of USD100 million in November 2025.

The deficit followed a deficit of USD291 million recorded in October 2025, which was originally reported to be at USD112 million, and a surplus of USD684 million in November 2024.

Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies, witnessed further increase as it clocked in at 104.76 in November 2025, up from 103.92 (revised) in October 2025.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP surged by USD1.3 billion in a single week to reach a 3.9-year high, buoyed by the recent loan tranche disbursed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The SBP reserves jumped to USD15.89 billion as of December 12, 2025, after the central received USD1.2 billion from the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The central bank’s FX reserves stood above USD15 billion last time during the week ended on March 11, 2022. During this time, the reserves fell to an alarming level of USD2.9 billion in February 2023.

The country’s total reserves stood at USD21.09 during the week ended December 12, 2025. The reserves held by the commercial banks were recorded at USD5.20 billion.

Meanwhile, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved USD700 million in financing for the Pakistan Public Resources for Inclusive Development – Multiphase Programmatic Approach (PRID-MPA), a multi-year, multi-program initiative to support macroeconomic stability and service delivery.

Open-market rates

In the open market, the PKR gained 4 paise for buying and 6 paise for selling against USD, closing at 280.72 and 281.30, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1 paise for buying and 19 paise for selling, closing at 328.46 and 331.48, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 5 paise for buying and 7 paise for selling, closing at 76.59 and 77.36, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 1 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 74.80 and 75.39, respectively.