The Pakistani rupee crashed against the US Dollar during intraday trade today after opening trade at 279 in the interbank market.
At 11 AM, it was all red, falling as low as 284 after losing ~Rs. 4 against the greenback.
Later, it returned to the 279 level between 12:30 PM and 1:15 PM and stayed at that level, before crashing below 283 again.
Open market rates (documented) across multiple currency counters dropped to the 288-295 range.
At close, the PKR depreciated by 1.34 percent to close at 283.04 after losing Rs. 3.77 against the dollar today.
The informal exchange rate initially fell and at 11:30 AM docked at the 292 level, before sliding further to 298.
Today’s cash rate per dollar in Hundi clocked in at the 292-294 band while many channels (undocumented) reported rates as high as 305.
While the PKR crashed again for the 3rd consecutive day today, it is pertinent to mention that the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China has refinanced over $600 million to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) which will further boost the dwindling reserves held by the central bank, and boost investor confidence.
Today’s losses come in tandem with last week’s trends which were filled with highs and lows of market players reacting to cashflows from UAE, KSA, IMF, and this week: China.
China’s $600 million, along with previous disbursements of $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates and $2 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will raise the SBP foreign exchange reserves in excess of $8.5 billion to as high as $9 billion.
Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 58 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 107 against the greenback. As per the exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost Rs. 3.77 against the dollar today.
The PKR was bearish against all of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost Rs. 1.01 against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), Rs. 1.02 against the UAE Dirham (AED), Rs. 4.44 against the Euro (EUR), and Rs. 4.65 against the Pound Sterling (GBP).
Moreover, it lost Rs. 2.55 against the Australian Dollar (AUD) and Rs. 3.15 against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) in today’s interbank currency market.