Pakistani rupee falls to all-time low of Rs 208.75 against US dollar

F.P. Report

KARACHI: The unbridled dollar appreciation has made it soar to new historic highs building an enormous pressure on the Pakistani rupee which has been shedding its value rapidly in the interbank trading during the last four weeks.

Revealing the dollar-rupee parity during Friday’s morning trading activity, the Forex dealers said that the US currency was gaining an unprecedented stride as for the first time it breached the historic Rs208.75 mark after gaining Rs1.08 in its value.

Yesterday, the greenback was closed at Rs207.67 after buffeting the spineless rupee. As the business started on Thursday, the Pakistani rupee quickly gained 46 paisas but the US dollar within hours struck back and smashed through another historic barrier of Rs207. As the trading concluded, the greenback overall gained Rs1.21 and ended the day at the record level of Rs207.67.

After the installation of the new collation government, the dollar has become expensive by Rs26.74. On April 12, 2022, the dollar’s exchange rate was Rs182.01.

Financial experts are of the view that uncertainty regarding the IMF deal with the government of Pakistan was one of the reasons behind the continued depreciation of the local currency against the American currency.

Besides this, another potent reason that is pounding the Pakistani rupee is its fast-depleting foreign reserves. The central bank’s reserves stood at $8.98 billion on June 10, down by $241 million from a week ago, whereas the reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5,957.7 making the total liquid forex reserves $14,943.0, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

The economic pundits also point to the gigantic trade deficit for the pulverizing of Pakistani rupee. They say in 11 months, country’s trade deficit has swelled to $45 billion which has put extraordinary pressure on the rupee.