US dollar thrashes Pakistani rupee hard in interbank, goes up by over three rupees
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The Pakistani rupee crashed against the mighty US dollar in the interbank market on Tuesday amid reports of decline in country’s foreign reserves, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency went down by massive Rs3.02 against the greenback and ended the day at Rs291.51.
The fresh setback to the Pakistani rupee came as the new caretaker government is settling in office after the swearing-in of interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today https://t.co/PSffDJrHqg#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/wz2CYM0KFi
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 15, 2023
However, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of dollars in the open market stood at Rs 299.1 and Rs302 respectively.
The price of the Euro increased by Rs 1.13 to close at Rs 318.38 against the last day’s closing of Rs 317.25, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen remained unchanged and closed at Rs 1.99, whereas an increase of Rs 3.13 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which traded at Rs 369.80 as compared to the last closing of Rs 366.67.
The exchange rates of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal increased by 82 paisa each to close at Rs 79.36 and Rs 77.71 respectively.
On Friday, the last business day of the previous week, the Pakistani rupee saw a depreciation of about half a percent, closing at Rs288.49 against the US dollar.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today https://t.co/42f9zwNeES#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/iVe27rnHUl
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 11, 2023
The currency fell in four out of the last week’s five sessions as effects of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme ended to officially make way for economic fundamentals.
Additionally, inflows seemed to have dried up with foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) falling by $110 million on a weekly basis to stand at $8.04 billion as of August 4, data released in the previous week showed.
In a key development, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad has said that global economic conditions have largely contributed to higher inflation in Pakistan. “World economy remained under pressure in near past that also resulted in an increase in inflation in Pakistan and these conditions were further aggravated due to floods and delay in IMF program review,” he said.
He further said that the nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) agreed with the IMF has improved foreign reserves of the country and largely resolved near-term issues pertaining to the external sector of the economy.
Reporter Ashraf Khan