The Pakistani rupee lost more ground on Monday, plunging to an all-time low of Rs176.22 against the United States (US) dollar in the interbank currency market.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs176.20 after being traded at Rs175.44 on Friday.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today:https://t.co/pe9p5XLc4G pic.twitter.com/bm2KjaGxYz
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) November 29, 2021
In the open market, however, the dollar traded at Rs177.30 against the rupee.
The rupee has maintained the downtrend for the past six months. It has lost 23.93 per cent or Rs23.46 to date, compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded on May 14.
With a fresh decline of 0.42pc, the rupee has depreciated by 11.84pc or Rs18.66 since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.
While speaking to the media on Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin had blamed speculators for devaluation of the local currency.
“Experts say that the real effective exchange rate of the dollar should be around Rs165-67. If the greenback is trading as high as Rs176 in the interbank market, then the rupee is undervalued by almost Rs10,” he lamented.
