The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) ended its winning streak against the US Dollar (USD) and posted losses today.
It depreciated by 0.04 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 217.88 after losing nine paisas in the interbank market today. The local unit quoted an intra-day low of Rs. 217.65 against the USD during today’s open market session.
The local unit was initially green when trade resumed against the greenback and opened trade at 216.80 in the open market. By 10:15 AM, the greenback went as low as 216.50 against the rupee. By midday, the greenback went as high as 217.60 against the rupee. After 2 PM, the local unit was bearish and stayed at the 217 level against the top foreign currency before the interbank close.
The rupee reversed its 13-day winning streak after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected an inflation rate of 19.9 percent for 2023 against 12.1 percent in 2022 for Pakistan.
The lender has projected the GDP growth rate for Pakistan at 3.5 percent for 2023 against 6 percent in 2022, but it does not include the impact of the recent floods.
Globally, oil prices fell for the third day in a row on Wednesday, as investors worried about the impact on fuel demand from rising global recession risks and tightening COVID-19 curbs in China.
Both benchmarks fell 2 percent the day before.
At the time of press, Brent crude was up by 0.70 percent at $94.95 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) went up by 0.50 percent to settle at $89.80 per barrel.
After spiking earlier in 2022, when Brent came close to a record high of $147 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, oil has dropped sharply on economic fears.
It bears mentioning that a stronger dollar raises the price of dollar-denominated commodities for holders of other currencies, putting pressure on oil and other risk assets.
The PKR reversed gains against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost two paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED), three paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), 46 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 51 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and 71 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD).
Conversely, it gained seven paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) in today’s interbank currency market.