Fears of faltering economy fuel rupee’s continued freefall

Local currency fell Rs3.09 or 1.31% to close at 236 against dollar in interbank market

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani rupee on Wednesday made yet another new record of devaluation against the US dollar, closed at an all-time high of Rs236.02 in the interbank market.

According to the details, the local currency fell Rs3.09 or 1.31% from its previous close of Rs232.93 on Tuesday, making it the ninth straight session in which it took a thrashing against the greenback.

According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of dollars in the open market were recorded at Rs236 and Rs240, respectively.

 

Similarly, the price of the euro increased by Rs1.26 and closed at Rs239.30 against the previous day’s closing of Rs238.06.

The Japanese Yen gained 02 paisas to close at Rs1.72, whereas an increase of Rs3.61 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which was traded at Rs284.19 as compared to its last closing of Rs280.58.

The exchange rates of Emirates Dirham and Saudi Riyal increased by 85 paisas each to close at Rs64.25 and Rs62.83, respectively

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan has spent over $3.5 billion on the import of petroleum products for August and September, and the payment is due in less than five weeks. The impact of this deadline is already causing a scarcity of the dollar in the markets and piling pressure on banks that are already running out of US currency.

Although the greenback is now at a 20-year high against other world currencies due to expectations that the Federal Reserve will increase its interest rates, the Pakistani Rupee has been one of Asia’s worst-performing currency in 2022 with a fall of nearly 16.5% against the US Dollar that put it at the bottom of a basket of 13 peers, including the Japanese Yen, South Korean Won, and Bangladesh Taka.

 

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