The rupee continued its recovery for the second consecutive session as it gained Rs1.09 to reach Rs277.48 against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Wednesday.

The dollar was trading at Rs277.48 at closing of the trading, compared with the closing of 278.57 the previous day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

The local unit has been showing sign of recovery as sentiments improved after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar yesterday (Tuesday) announced that Saudi Arabia has deposited $2 billion in SBP.

Pakistan has also reached a staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement for nine months. The IMF’s executive board is set to meet today (Wednesday) to discuss approval of a staff-level agreement with Pakistan.

As the government fulfilled all the prerequisite conditions of the global lender, it has expressed optimism that the first tranche of the new bailout programme will be approved in the meeting.

The investors’ sentiments in the Pakistan Stock Exchange were also up as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 359.16 points, or 0.80% to close at 45,514.95 on Wednesday.

The local bourse witnessed positive activity throughout the trading session as the investors opted for buying shares after Fitch ratings agency upgraded Pakistan’s rating while a disbursement is also expected from the IMF after its executive board meeting scheduled today.