US dollar smashes Pakistani rupee in interbank trading

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ISLAMABAD (UNA): Pakistan rupee weakened by Rs 2.44 against the Dollar in the interbank trading on Monday and closed at Rs 287.08 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 284.64.
According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of Dollars in the open market were recorded at Rs 288.25 and Rs 291 respectively. The price of the Euro appreciated by Rs 2.37 to close at Rs 313.15 against the last day’s closing of Rs310.78, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen gained 02 paisas to close at Rs 2.17; whereas an increase of Rs2.31 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which traded at Rs 356.47 as compared to its last day’s closing of Rs354.16.
The exchange rate of the Emirates Dirham and Saudi Riyal rose by 66 paisas each to close at Rs 78.17 and Rs 76.52 respectively. According to data provided by the money dealers, the US dollar surged against the local unit which was depreciated by 60 paisas during morning session, letting the greenback to be traded at Rs285.25.
But later, the US dollar slayed the local currency and gained Rs2.15 in its value against the Pakistani rupee and started exchanging at Rs286.80.
On Friday, the last working day of the previous week, the Pakistani rupee tumbled by 23 paisas and settled the day’s trade at PKR 284.65 per US dollar.
The market is showing less confidence in the local unit owing to political uncertainty, delay in the IMF programme, and dwindling foreign reserves. The hopes of the market further dampened following the news that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has cancelled his US visit to attend the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. He initially planned to meet with the management of the International Monetary Fund during spring meetings to discuss and address obstacles hindering the progress of a staff-level agreement that would facilitate the resumption of a stalled bailout package.
Since January, the government has been in talks with the IMF to secure the release of $1.1bn from a $6.5bn bailout package agreed upon in 2019.
Pakistan’s forex reserves are also drying up. The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $36.4 million to $4.2 billion during the week ended on March 31, 2023, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday.

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