No reason to further devalue Pak rupee: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD, Apr 5 (APP):Minister for Finance Asad Umar Friday said that there was no reason now to further devalue the Pakistan Rupee as the rupee had reached at its absolute equilibrium level.
Addressing a ceremony held at Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi through a video link from Islamabad, Asad Umar warned the investors not to waste their precious money in procuring dollars as the rupee was not going to be further devalued.
He said in the past, the rupee had been kept overvalued artificially which badly affected the country’s economy.
A currency should be aligned with the fundamentals, he said adding the real effective exchange rate in January, 2018 was Rs 127 against US dollar, however the rupee regrettably kept overvalued.
Umar said the State Bank of Pakistan has categorically stated that rupee is in equilibrium so no reason to spread rumors in this regard.
“Please don’t mislead the people by spreading rumors over the future of currency value,” he maintained.
He said Pakistan government had not made any pledge with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with respect to exchange rate and neither the IMF had made any demand in this regard.
He said market had now become very attractive for investment and the investors should purchase shares instead of wasting their money in procuring dollars.