KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Miftah Ismail assured the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) President Malik Bostan that the government is taking steps to enhance dollar supply in the open market. Moreover, they have urged that the supply should be controlled by the association, Malik Bostan informed Pakistan Today here on Thursday.
Recently, money changers held a meeting to discuss and fix the open market rates to overcome rising exchange rates of the greenback. In the meeting held on Wednesday, the rate was fixed at Rs118.70 against the dollar, while money changers have agreed and opened the market at Rs 118.70 on Thursday.
While talking to Pakistan Today Bostan said the decision of the money changers’ meeting works and the greenback has begun to slide from its peeks of Rs119.50 to Rs118.50 by Thursday evening.
“The dollar will further go down in the coming days as the central bank has directed to keep the rates at Rs116.50 against the dollar or above one per cent of the interbank rates,” Malik Bostan informed.
He said the SBP governor and advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance also hinted that they have made some changes in the remittance policies and it would be announced in the budget speech on April 27, which will help to increase the remittances inflows in the open market automatically.
The rupee depreciated to an all-time high of Rs119.50 against the US dollar in the kerb market last Wednesday.
Separate meetings of two representative bodies of the currency exchange operators were held with their members in which it was decided to decrease the dollar rates in the open market. Also, anyone found not following the directives of these two representative bodies would be penalised.
But the representative bodies of the currency dealers said in case of directives not being followed, membership of a company could also be revoked.
Meanwhile, a statement released by FAP has confirmed that the dollar rates would be set twice daily, in morning and evening in lieu of demand and supply.
