Banks quoting upwards of Rs241 to retire LCs of oil imports from June

Karachi: Profit has been able to confirm that Letters of Credit (LCs) for oil shipments that landed in May and June are being retired at rates above Rs241 against the dollar. “Even state-owned banks, which usually do not charge a large spread between the interbank, are charging such rates,” said a major importer.

Sources confirm that a major importer retired its LC at the rate of Rs238/USD earlier this morning. Later in the afternoon, a large state-owned enterprise has retired its LC of $70 million at the rate of Rs242/USD. This is for petrol imported in May and June.

“Banks are now more concerned with retiring old LCs instead of opening new ones,” says the source. 

The dollar closed at Rs221.99 on Monday after depreciating 3.06 per cent in a day.