Pakistani rupee plummets

The Pakistani rupee fell 9.6 per cent against the dollar on Thursday, central bank data showed - the biggest one-day drop in over two decades - in a slump that may persuade the International Monetary Fund to resume lending to the country.

The drop comes a day after foreign exchange companies removed a cap on the exchange rate, a key demand of the IMF as part of a programme of economic reforms it has agreed on with the cash-strapped South Asian nation.

The currency's official value closed at 255.4 rupees against the dollar versus 230.9 on Wednesday, the central bank said.

Facing an increasingly acute balance of payments crisis, Pakistan is desperate to secure external financing, with less than three weeks' worth of import cover in its foreign exchange reserves.

Pakistan secured a $6 billion IMF bailout in 2019.