Sept 11 (Reuters) – Remittances from foreign workers from Pakistan were recorded at $2.09 billion during the month of August, the country’s central bank said in a statement on Monday, slightly up from $2.02 billion in July.
Under a lending program agreed in July to avoid a default on Pakistan’s sovereign debt, the International Monetary Fund told authorities to limit the premium between interbank and open market rates of the local rupee to 1.25 % for five business days.
“The main reason for the decline in remittances compared to last year is the huge gap between interbank, open market and black market rates, which reached a high of 10% during August 23,” said Tahir Abbas, head of research at a Karachi-based investment company. Arif Habib Limited.
The rupee has gained 2% against the dollar over the last four trading sessions, closing on Monday at Rs 301.16. The gap between the interbank and open markets has narrowed from highs of more than 8% following regulatory changes and law enforcement by authorities.
Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Ed Osmond and Alison Williams
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.