ISLAMABAD: According to the central bank of Pakistan, the Pakistani rupee (PKR), which has been strengthening against the US dollar for five working sessions in a row, increased by more than 0.90 percent today.

The local currency increased by 1.17 percent from the previous day to close at 226.15 PKR on Thursday, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On Friday, the dollar closed at 224.04 PKR.

The PKR made enormous single-day gains against the US dollar on Wednesday as it strengthened by more than 9 PKR in the interbank market, it said. Over the previous five trading sessions, the US currency lost more than 6% of its value versus the rupee.

According to SBP figures, the local currency had previously declined by more than 13% over the course of the previous 10 straight working days, reaching an all-time low closing value of 239.94 PKR on July 28.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics recently released data showing that the trade deficit decreased 18.3% to USD 2.64 billion in July of this year from USD 3.235 billion in July of the previous year.

Miftah Ismail, the minister of finance and revenue, stated on Friday that the rupee had fallen significantly against the dollar last month because dollar outflows had been outpacing inflows.

He added that Pakistan's import bill in June was USD 7.7 billion and that if the current account deficit widened to such a degree, it would put pressure on the PKR. He said the government would control imports for at least three months in an effort to control the decline of local currency and maintain the balance of trade.

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