The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued its fall against the US Dollar (USD) and reported losses in the interbank market today. The local currency lost Rs. 1.48 against the greenback at the close of the session today.
It depreciated by 0.80 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 185.92 today after losing Rs. 1.90 and closing at Rs. 184.44 in the interbank market on Tuesday, 19 April. The domestic currency hit an intra-day low of Rs. 185.95 against the USD during today’s open market session.
The rupee collapsed against the dollar today as markets continue to remain under pressure from talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is expected that the Pakistani government will have to take some tough and unpopular decisions for the revival of the economy and the loan program.
In terms of global factors impacting the exchange rate at home, oil prices rebounded from sharp losses in the previous session as concerns about tighter supplies from Russia and Libya raised concerns, while industry data observed a drop in U.S. crude inventories in the past week.
At the time of filing this report, Brent futures were trading at $108 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were sitting comfortably at $103 a barrel. To recall, both benchmarks fell 5.2 percent in precarious trading on Tuesday after the IMF lowered its global growth forecast by nearly a full percentage point, citing the economic implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine and alerting that inflation was now a “clear and present danger” for many countries.
Discussing the local currency’s performance earlier during the day, the former Treasury Head of Chase Manhattan Bank, Asad Rizvi remarked that the rupee weakness is due to economic reasons, as forex reserves have plunged. Moreover, the delay in the Chinese $2.4 billion funding after its maturity and the widening of the trade deficit are hurting as well.
Talks with IMF are adding pressure on the PKR, and sadly, “holding of export proceeds is adding to the woes”, he added.
#INTERBANK MARKET….
Rupee weakness is due to #ECONOMIC #REASONS, as #FxReservs has plunged. Delay in #Chinese $2.4bn funding after its maturity & widening of trade gap is hurting too. Talks with #IMF is adding pressure on #PKR. Holding of EXPORT PROCEEDS is adding to the woes.
— Asad Rizvi (@asadcmka) April 19, 2022
The PKR dipped against the other major currencies and reported losses in the interbank currency market today. It lost 39 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and 40 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED).
Moreover, it lost Rs. 1.22 against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), Rs. 1.93 against the Australian Dollar (AUD), Rs. 2.05 against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and Rs. 2.21 against the Euro (EUR) in today’s interbank currency market.
