Pakistan's dollar bonds slide to lowest in month as economy reels with historic floods: report

• Bloomberg reports bonds due in 2031 were quoted at 50.82 cents on the dollar — lowest since August 2.
• Bonds due 2024 fell to 66.6 cents on the dollar — the lowest since August 5. 
• Analyst says Pakistan bonds are weighed down by ongoing catastrophic floods in the country.

As Pakistan’s economy reels from cataclysmic floods, the coalition government’s fiscal health has come under pressure. As a result, the country’s dollar bonds have slid to the lowest level in more than a month, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The publication reported that the bonds due in 2031 were quoted 0.6 cents lower at 50.82 cents on the dollar on Tuesday — the lowest since August 2.

After the cash-strapped nation secured $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August — which helped ease the risk of default — the notes surged to 58 cents on the dollar.

Meanwhile, the bonds due 2024 fell to 66.6 cents on the dollar — the lowest since August 5.

“Pakistan bonds are weighed down by the ongoing catastrophic floods in the country,” said Eng Tat Low, an emerging-market sovereign analyst at Columbia Threadneedle in Singapore. “Their fiscal health will take a hit from it.”

The catastrophic flooding in Pakistan’s history has killed more than 1,300 people and is estimated to cause $10 billion in damages to the economy.

The government has slashed its growth forecast for this fiscal year to 2.3% from 5% in June, saying the floods which have inundated a third of the country have intensified the nation’s economic crisis.