Rupee will improve “in the next two weeks,” according to Miftah Ismail.
The Pakistani rupee, which has fallen significantly against the US dollar in recent weeks, should start to recover “in the two weeks,” according to finance minister Miftah Ismail. Ismail was speaking at a news conference to discuss Pakistan’s future economic development.
The finance minister stated, “I honestly think that the rupee’s intrinsic value is substantially more [than what it is at this time], even though I never like to speculate on the currency market. According to him, Pakistan had to spend “a billion and another billion” over the previous two months, which placed pressure on the local currency.Next month, Ismail said, efforts will be made to increase the amount of money entering the country each day while decreasing the amount leaving.
InshaAllah, there will be a surplus [of dollars] thanks to our efforts to cut imports and the daily rise in entering dollars against a reduction in outgoing units, he said. The minister continued, “This will result in less pressure [on the rupee], and the dollar’s value relative to the rupee should experience a modest decline.”
Ismail expressed optimism that “inshaAllah, the next two weeks will be better.” Although he feels that “the fundamentals are in Pakistan’s favour,” he issued a warning, noting that “speculation and sentiments also play a role in this.”
When asked what the administration planned to do to stop the rising inflation, the finance minister, Ismail, responded, “It is the first priority of any finance minister to contain inflation and focus on growth. Never have growth or the ability to control inflation been my top priorities. I have only had one priority: keeping Pakistan out of default.
He used Sri Lanka, which recently declared bankruptcy, to illustrate how dire a condition the nation could have fallen into before being “rescued.”
“Recently, petrol in the country cost 90 rupees and was sold for 3,000 rupees on the illicit market,” the minister stated. “Hospitals closed owing to medicine shortages. Women would stand in line for three days to buy gas to power their stoves.
Those who criticised the previous administration said that the PTI-led administration raised the nation’s debt by Rs20,000 billion over the previous three and a half years.
