Pakistan’s rupee slumps to record low amid IMF loan delay
Pakistan has a few more tasks to complete to meet requirements for a $6.5 billion bailout
Islamabad: Pakistan’s rupee dropped to a record low as the nation faces a delay in its attempt to revive its loan program with the International Monetary Fund to avoid a default.
The rupee weakened 1 per cent to 288 a dollar, according to foreign-exchange desk at Arif Habib Ltd. in Karachi.
The IMF’s resident representative for Pakistan said the country has a few more tasks to complete to meet requirements for a $6.5 billion bailout. The lender approved a $3 billion loan program for Sri Lanka last month to ease its economic crisis.
Pakistan’s loan program is yet to materialize months after it raised taxes and energy prices and allowed the currency to depreciate to meet IMF’s conditions. The nation has missed multiple deadlines to resume its bailout. The Washington-based lender has asked Pakistan to seek commitments for new loans from Saudi Arabia and the UAE before it revives the bailout.