The greenback closed at Rs282.90 after depreciating by 11 paisas in the interbank market.

Since December 12, the rupee has been appreciating. According to the caretaker government, the local currency started gaining strength after a crackdown on illegal money exchangers and hoarders.

In November, the International Monetary Fund staff and Pakistan had reached a staff-level agreement on the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The approval from the executive board would unlock $700 million from the $3 billion SBA.

The South Asian country vowed to not take “administrative actions” to control the value of the dollar against the rupee.

“Pakistan recognises that the rupee must remain market-determined to sustainably alleviate external pressures and rebuild reserves. To support this, they plan to strengthen the transparency and efficiency of the FX market and to refrain from administrative actions to influence the rupee,” the IMF said.