KARACHI:The local currency lost Rs5.16 in interbank trade on Wednesday as the rupee resumed its unrelenting slide against the US dollar. The rupee plunged to a record low of Rs290, beating the previous low of 288.42 set on April 11.

The local currency suffered a setback after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested a day earlier in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

According to Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and rising political unpredictability are affecting exchange rates.

“The rupee-dollar parity doesn’t seem linked to the actual supply and demand of dollars,” he insisted.

A $6.5 billion IMF bailout plan that had halted because the government had not complied with all loan requirements is currently being attempted to be revived by the coalition administration.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which are currently at $4.5 billion, are still incredibly low, and only have enough money to pay for around one month’s worth of imports.

S and P Global Ratings predicts that Pakistan’s total external finance needs as a percentage of current-account receipts plus usable reserves would increase from 133% in the fiscal year 2023 to 139.5% in the fiscal year 2024.