KARACHI (National Times)- The rupee depreciated on Wednesday with a meagre loss of 0.02% as investors remained cautious ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) review scheduled to be held on January 28.

The local currency closed at Rs176.22 against the greenback in the interbank market compared to the previous close of Rs176.18. It lost 0.02% during the session.

Currency dealers believe that the rupee lost ground, despite some positive news that came on the economic front.

With a fresh decline of 0.02%, the rupee has depreciated by 11.85% (or Rs18.68) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

The rupee has maintained the downtrend for the past eight months. It has lost 15.72% (or Rs23.95) to date, compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.

However, analysts expect an appreciation in the local currency in the near term on expectations for the revival of Pakistan’s three-year $6 billion IMF’s programme and other positive developments.

There has been clarity on the IMF front post-approval of the mini-budget from the national assembly. Moreover, the measures taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and inflows from exporters and remittances have also supported the rupee in recent days.

Remittances from overseas Pakistanis maintained an upward momentum and hit the highest level for the six months in July-December FY22. Remittances rose 11.3% to $15.8 billion in the first half of this fiscal year.