KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee (PKR) on Wednesday continued its upward trend against US Dollar after International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved loan tranche for cash-strapped Pakistan.

The rupee was changing hands at Rs218.50 per dollar after gaining Rs1.62 during intraday trade in the interbank market. Earlier, the International Monetary Fund board approved the seventh and eighth reviews of Pakistan’s bailout program, allowing for a release of about $1.1 billion.

The IMF agreed to extend the programmer by a year and increase the total funding by 720 million that will bring the total access under the EFF to about US$6.5 billion. The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program was initially for 36 months and worth $6 billion at the time of its approval in 2019. It had stalled since earlier this year as Islamabad struggled to meet targets set by the lender.