What Is the Pakistani Rupee (PKR)?

The Pakistani rupee is the national currency of Pakistan and is abbreviated PKR. It's made up of 100 paise and is represented locally by the symbol Rp or Rs. The PKR is often referred to as rupees, rupaya, or rupaye. The word “rupee” originates from the Sanskrit word rup or rupa which means “silver” in many Indo-Aryan dialects.꧅

One U.S. dollar is worth approximately 278 PKR as of October 2024.

Understanding the Pakistani Rupee (PKR)

The Pakistani rupee replaced the Indian rupee when Pakistan became independent from Britain in 1947. Pakistan initially continued using the B🅺ritish notes and simply stamped “Pakistan” over them until they began printing their own notes the following year.

The rupee was decimalized in 1961, replacing the 16 annas that it was originally divided into with 100 paise.

Coins denominate🐭d in paisa were no longer legal tender after 2013. The 1-rupee coin is the minimum legal tender. A 5-rupee coin was introduced on Oct. 15, 2015 and a 10-rupee coin was introduced in🎃 2016.

Several 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:banknotes are in circulation as of 2024: Rs 10 (10 rupees), Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500, Rs 1,000, and Rs 5,000. 💮There's also a 50th anniversary Rs 5 banknote. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the independence of Pakistan.

The rupee was initially pegged to the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:British pound but the government adopted a managed float policy in 1982. The nation’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:central bank routinely intervenes to keep the currency in a specific price range but this caused financial mayhem.

The rupee fell nearly 40% against the British pound over the next five years and the cost of imports surged, crippling the already fragile economy. The currency remained under pressure until the turn of the century when the State Bank of Pakistan finally lowered 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:interest rates and purchased 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:U.S. dollars to curb the falling value of the currency.

Pakistan’s Economic Prospects

The Pakistani rupee plunged during the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:global financial crisis like most emerging market currencies. It lost more than 20% against the U.S. dollar in 2008.

The Pakistani rupee doesn't have any strong correlations with other currencies, financials, or commodities because of the fragility and volatility of its economy. Investment research firm MSCI upgraded Pakistan to “Emerging Markets” status in June 2022, however, due to the country’s favorable demographics and increased economic ties with China.

The South Asian nation sits poised to benefit from increased investment from Beijing’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a 1,864-mile (3,000-kilometer) network of roads, railways, and oil and gas pipelines between the two countries. The Corridor is expected to bolster the Pakistani economy through 2030.

IMF to the Rescue

Growth in Pakistan at the end of 2019 was less than projected but the country shored up a conditional multiyear $6 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deliver structural reform and address critical macroeconomic issues. The most recent bailout tranche stalled in November 2022, howeve🃏r, amid differences over a program review.🌊

Pakistan’s government indicated its readiness to revive negotiations with the Washington-based lender in January 2023 as its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:foreign exchange reserves slumped to an all-time ღlow of $11.7 billion in December 2022. This was about half the amount it held at the start of the previous yꦛear.

The South Asian nation had to meet stringent conditions imposed by the IMF to resume the economic rescue program. They included a market-based 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:exchange rate, increased energy pricing, and the imposition of new taxes to account♓ for revenue slippage.

With mounting debts of more than $8 billion in the coming months and the country’s aging energy infrastructure needing urgent upgrades, the Pakistani government agreed to the IMF’s demands. A nationwide power outage had left more than 200,000 without electricity in January 2023, highlighting the urgency of securing financial assistance. An agreement was reached in March 2024.

The Bottom Line

The Pakistani rupee comes in various coin and banknote denominations and has been Pakistan’s national currency since the country’s independence in 1947. The rupee has remained under a managed float policy since 1982 but the Pakistan 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:central bank’s routine intervention to keep the currency in a speಞcific price range caused financial mayhem.

Among other economic stipulations, the IMF requested that the rupee move to a market-based exchange rate as a condition to revive a multiyear $6 billion bailout program in 2024, The rupee has consistently depreciated against the U.S. dollar since the global financial crisis due to Pakistan’s increasing 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:national debt and political instability.