- The Pakistani rupee firmed 0.4 percent on Monday, following the government's agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $7.6 billion emergency loan, dealers said.
The rupee was quoted closing at 79.80/90 to the dollar, compared with Saturday's close of 80.15/25.
Dealers said they expected the rupee to stabilise, at least in the short term, following the IMF accord, having already lost 23 percent against the dollar this year as a balance of payments crisis developed.
"There were few payments today but the rupee seems to have firmed following the IMF announcement on Saturday," said a currency dealer.
The IMF said on Saturday its executive board is expected to meet shortly on the 23-month standby credit after IMF and Pakistan agreed on a reform programme.
Pakistan had been in talks with the IMF for months, but officials had been coy about admitting they were seeking an IMF package because of the harsh conditions the Fund often proposes.
An IMF programme usually involves cutting spending, raising taxes, accelerating privatizaton, increasing interest rates, and exchange rate flexibility to correct fiscal and external imbalances and control inflation.
The central bank last week raised the key interest rate by 200 basis points to 15 percent.
The rupee has lost 22.8 percent against the dollar since the start of the year.
However, analysts said the rupee would only stabilise in the long-term when there is an improvement in inflation and the current account deficit.
Inflation is running at over 25 percent, and Pakistan's current account and fiscal deficits are unsustainable.
The central bank's currency reserves, at $3.5 billion on Nov. 8, were just enough to cover nine weeks worth imports.
But the government's top economic adviser, Shaukat Tarin, said on Saturday he expected the first tranche of an IMF standby credit to be released this month.
The interest rate on the credit facility would vary between 3.51 and 4.51 percent, and would be payable between fiscal 2011/12 and 2015/16.
Pakistan also faced defaulting on international debt obligations in February next year unless it received a multi-billion dollar infusion.
After an IMF deal, Pakistan's thinly-traded five-year CDS were quoted around 2,600 basis points, compared with 3,000 bps late on Friday, one trader said.
He warned though it was difficult to get a reliable quote because the market was so thinly traded.
Potential donors including Saudi Arabia, China and the United States are gathering in Abu Dhabi on Monday for a "Friends of Pakistan" conference, but government officials said they are not expecting any financial pledges at the meeting.
However analysts said on Monday the IMF accord would help bring in funding from bi-lateral donors, possibly including agreements by oil exporters in the Gulf to let Pakistan pay for imports on a deferred basis.
The IMF news made no impact on a stock market. Trading dried up weeks ago due to an artificial floor authorities placed under the benchmark index at the end of August to protect a Karachi market that has dropped 35 percent so far this year.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended flat at 9,184.09 points, just 40 points above its floor and turnover was 2,200 shares.
Dealers said stocks were trading at least 20 to 25 percent lower in off-market transactions and those losses will be reflected once a floor on the main index is removed.
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