The Pakistani rupee continued to slide on Friday as the currency dipped to a fresh all-time low at Rs176.77 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.
As per reports, the local currency was being traded at Rs176.80 to 176.90 against the greenback in the interbank market while banks were offering upwards of 177.30 to clients.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency had closed at Rs176.42 against the greenback on Thursday.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today:https://t.co/hnK3aQDZqu pic.twitter.com/iTD4MIAtAR
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) December 3, 2021
It may be mentioned here that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in a statement, has said that the foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank declined by $244 million on a week-on-week (WoW) basis.
Earlier on Thursday, the Pakistani currency had plunged to a low of Rs176.65 against the US dollar.
In the interbank market, the local currency was available at Rs176.42 whereas in the open market, the greenback’s selling rate was recorded at Rs177.50 and buying rate at Rs177.
The rupee has maintained the downtrend for the past six months. It has lost 16.08% (or Rs24.5) to date, compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded on May 14.
With a fresh decline of 0.20%, the rupee has depreciated by 12.20% (or Rs19.23) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.
Market analysts have attributed the record decline in the rupee’s value to the ever increasing import bill, widening trade deficit, dwindling forex reserves and the delay in arrival of funds worth $3 billion from Saudi Arabia under a support package which was expected to be received last week.
