Sunday 06 / October / 2024
Muscat: The Pakistani rupee (PKR) and Indian rupee (INR) have finally begun gaining strength, after a year of ups and downs in 2018. The Indian rupee, which previously traded at INR182 against an Omani rial (OMR), has strengthened slightly to INR180.7, while the Pakistani rupee is almost stable and quoting around PKR358.5, according to a general manager at Mustafa Sultan Exchange.
Both PKR and INR were at their all-time-low against the Omani rial last year, trading at INR193.15 and PKR359 to one OMR due to political stability and oil prices back in the respective countries. However, INR started to gain strength last month when the oil prices went down.
“India has a negative current account deficit because it is an importer of oil. The rupee will follow the same pattern as the oil prices, so when the oil prices go down, that will positively affect the rupee, and when they go up, this will affect it negatively,” said a manager of an exchange house in Oman.
Speaking exclusively to Times of Oman, P.K. Subudhi, General Manager at Mustafa Sultan Exchange, said: “INR is right now range bound. Brent Oil prices are below 60, which is one of the major factors for the currency’s appreciation.” He continued saying that the stability in PKR is mainly because of Pakistan’s current government securing successful ties with other countries.
“I think the value of PKR has stabilised as the new government has been able to get some credit lines from the China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates governments,” Subudhi said.
Another expert from Oman UAE Exchange added that the value of PKR has been stabilised by the country’s Central Bank and will continue.
“The PKR has been kept stable by Pakistan’s Central Bank. This trend can continue in the coming days unless any new loan conditions are imposed by the International Monetary Fund for granting loans,” said Boban M.P., CEO, Oman UAE Exchange.
“On the other hand, the outlook of the INR looks stable with a bullish trend on account of the easing oil prices and possible positive trade talks between the United States and China,” he added.
