The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) finally ended its losing streak against the US Dollar (USD) and posted gains during intraday trade today.
It appreciated by 0.24 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 239.37 after gaining 56 paisas in the interbank market today. The local unit quoted an intra-day low of Rs. 240.37 against the USD during today’s open market session. Since the regime change, the greenback is still up by Rs. 51.51 against the PKR.
The rupee closed in the green for the first time in ten trading sessions after depreciating by 13.31 percent. The local unit previously closed at Rs. 239.94. It has been one of the world’s worst-performing currencies, falling by more than 30 percent since the beginning of the calendar year 2022.
Surprisingly, the PKR recovered after S&P Global Ratings on Thursday revised the outlook on Pakistan’s long-term ratings to negative from stable on weakening external position due to higher commodity prices, rupee depreciation, and tighter global financial conditions. “Downward pressure on the ratings would emerge if financial support from bilateral and multilateral partners quickly erodes, or usable foreign exchange reserves fall further to levels indicating distress in servicing Pakistan’s external debt obligations,” it said.
Despite today’s recovery, instability poses a constant threat to Pakistan’s economy. Worries over Pakistan’s funding needs, a massive current-account deficit, and high inflation are all compounding, putting pressure on the local currency. The South Asian nation’s current account recorded a significant deficit of $17.4 billion for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) as against $2.82 billion reported during the financial year 2020-21 (FY21), stated the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Globally, oil prices spiked in European trading on Friday as attention switched to next week’s OPEC+ conference and expectations that it will dash US hopes for a supply boost.
Brent crude was up by 2.20 percent at $109.5 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also appreciated and went up by 2.32 percent to settle at $98.66 per barrel.
The PKR reported gains against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained 11 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), 15 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), 15 paisas against UAE Dirham (AED), and 22 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD).
Conversely, it lost one paisa against the Euro (EUR) and 14 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) in today’s interbank currency market.
