Rupee Falls 4th Day in a Row Against US Dollar

The Pakistani rupee fell further against the US Dollar during intraday trade today after opening trade at 282.05 in the interbank market.

At 11 AM, it was bearish, falling as low as 284.125 after losing ~Rs. 1.2 against the greenback.

Later, it returned to the 283 level between 12:30 PM and 1:15 PM and stayed at that level.

Open market rates (documented) across multiple currency counters stayed in the 288-295 range.

At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.27 percent to close at 283.8 after losing 76 paisas against the dollar today.

The informal exchange rate initially fell and at 11:30 AM docked at the 293 level, before halting at 297.

Today’s cash rate per dollar in Hundi clocked in at the 293-295 band while many channels (undocumented) reported rates as high as 304.

While the PKR crashed again for the 4th consecutive day today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Tuesday’s Country Report on Pakistan set a premium limit of 1.25 percent between open and interbank PKR/USD rates.

One trader said the move could have drastic implications as players expect bigger premiums in the black market.

“Demand could migrate towards undocumented channels earlier than expected. While the premium rate by IMF is aimed at closing the interbank/open gap, its implementation will likely ensure that informal channels don’t lose steam in any case. It came as a surprise when the lender wrote this; the PKR will fall further down. 285 was an acceptable level until today. Expect breaches at 290, or further below,” he remarked.

Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 59 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 108 against the greenback. As per the exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost 76 paisas against the dollar today.

The PKR was bearish against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost 18 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 20 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), 20 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED), and Rs. 1.2 against the Canadian Dollar (CAD).

Conversely, it gained 20 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) and Rs. 2.7 against the Pound Sterling (GBP) in today’s interbank currency market.