The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued its fall against the US Dollar (USD) for the 22st consecutive day today.
The PKR depreciated by 0.10 percent and closed at Rs. 229.15 after losing 24 paisas. It quoted an intraday low of 230 against the greenback before close.
The local unit was all red against the greenback and opened trade at 229 in the open market. By midday, the greenback moved higher against the rupee to 230.175. After 1 PM, the local unit slowed losses and stayed at the upper 229 level against the top foreign currency before the interbank close.
The rupee reported losses against the US Dollar today after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said it is exploring different ways to help Pakistan but at the moment is not planning any grants or deposits for Pakistan without seeing results.
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said his country is discussing with the World Bank and other institutions how it can be more creative in providing support to Pakistan after extending the term of a $3 billion deposit to boost its forex reserves late last year.
Money changers said the rupee is currently on a one-way path toward its all-time low against the greenback, a valuation achievable within the next couple of weeks or months.
Globally, oil prices tumbled about 1 percent on Thursday, extending losses from the previous day, as a surprise increase in US crude stocks weighed on the market, as did fears of a recession fueled by disappointing US retail sales and output data.
At 4:10 PM, Brent crude was down by $0.80 or 0.94 percent to reach $84.18 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was also red at $78.60 per barrel. Both had reached their highest levels yesterday since early December 2022.
Last month’s larger-than-expected drop in US producer prices, a drop in retail sales, and a massive drop in manufacturing output raised concerns about the economic cost of rate hikes.
Moreover, with combative rate hikes still on the table, the US dollar rose, weighing on oil demand by making the commodity more costly for those carrying other currencies.
The PKR was bearish against some of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost six paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED) and five paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR).
Conversely, it gained one paisa against the Pound Sterling (GBP), 74 paisas against the Euro (EUR), Rs. 1.60 against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), and Rs. 2.68 against the Australian Dollar (AUD) in today’s interbank currency market.
34 to go slowly…..