The Pakistani rupee continued its decline against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 299.5 in the interbank market.
At 12 PM, it was bearish, falling as low as 303.2 after losing ~Rs. 4 against the greenback, shedding opening-bell momentum.
Later, it went back to the 304 level between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM and anchored trends for the remainder of the day, before re-entering the 302 level.
Open market rates (documented) across multiple currency counters stood in the 305-311 range.
At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.33 percent to close at 302 after losing Rs. 1 against the dollar today.
Trends have remained largely red all week after the caretaker government was sworn into power. The black market rate has also moved further away from the Bank rate and trades in the 314-320 band. Meanwhile, currency dealers expect slowed slippages until the PKR finds a comfortable level to form resistance at. August may see multiple record lows of somewhere between 300-305.
Pertinently, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 82 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 129 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost Rs. 1 against the dollar.
In a key development, the caretaker government last week declared an all-out war against unlicensed foreign currency dealers to help curb the rampant rise of the US Dollar in the open market.
Interim Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar during a high-level meeting sought a new strategy to deal with dollar smuggling, which authorities believe is one of the primary causes for the greenback’s explosive run against the Pakistani Rupee.
The decision to crack down on unauthorized dealers was made on Wednesday after the PKR-USD interbank rate breached Rs. 300, a first for Pakistan’s economy amid extortionate dollar demand arising from import receipts, smuggling, and free-flowing financing of Afghan imports.
The PKR was red against the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost 26 against the Australian Dollar (AUD), 49 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), 79 paisas against the British Pound (GBP), and Rs. 1.34 against the Euro (EUR).
Moreover, it lost 26 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and 27 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED) in today’s interbank currency market.
Source: Pro Pakistani