Overview
- The Pakistani rupee in interbank trade edged to about PKR 278.20 on June 24 after the State Bank of Pakistan kept its policy rate at 11.5 percent.
- SBP data showed a May current‑account surplus of roughly USD 459 million and SBP foreign‑exchange reserves of USD 17.221 billion, leaving overall liquid reserves at about USD 22.742 billion.
- The Indian rupee weakened into the mid‑94s versus the dollar between June 22 and June 24 as the dollar index strengthened toward 101 on growing expectations of higher US interest rates.
- Market drivers included stronger dollar demand tied to Fed‑rate bets, Brent crude trading in the high‑$70s and regional geopolitical headlines, while the RBI reported net spot FX sales of about USD 8.944 billion in April and India has schemes to draw dollar deposits.
- The near‑term outlook is that continued dollar strength and importer hedging could keep pressure on the INR, while Pakistan’s reserve buffer and ADB’s USD 700 million policy loan provide policy room to prevent large PKR swings; watch Fed signals, oil moves and capital flows for the next directional cues.