The Pakistani rupee maintained its upward momentum against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Monday, the first trading session of the week.

The greenback shed 45 paisas and was trading at Rs284.52 at the closing of the market, as against the closing of Rs284.97 on December 1.

In the open market, the buying of the dollar was recorded at Rs283.7 while it was quoted at 286.5 for selling at the time of filing the story.

In the international forex market, the dollar started the week on a shaky footing on Monday as markets took stock of cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as they waited on a key employment report that could influence the outlook for US interest rates.

The rupee’s march was supported by a staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review of a $3 billion bailout

Under the deal, the country will receive $700 million after approval from the Fund’s Executive Board.

Earlier today, the Executive Board of the IMF released its meeting schedule till December 14 and Pakistan’s case was not on the list.

According to the sources, Pakistan’s case is not included in the schedule of the IMF Executive Board.

It is pertinent to mention that Saudia Arabia on November 26 extended the term for the deposit of $3 billion placed with the State Bank of Pakistan.

“The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has extended the term for the deposit of USD 3 billion maturing on 05 December 2023 for another one year,” the central bank said in a statement.