The Pakistani rupee dropped to a new record low against the US Dollar today, making history after opening trade at 296 in the interbank market.
At 12 PM, it was bearish, falling as low as 300 after losing ~Rs. 4 against the greenback, giving in to opening-bell bears.
Later, it crashed to the 301 level between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM and anchored trends for the remainder of the day.
Open market rates (documented) across multiple currency counters stood in the 304-310 range.
At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.26 percent to close at 301 after losing 78 paisas against the dollar today.
Trends have remained largely red all week after the caretaker government was sworn into power. The black market rate has also moved further away from the Bank rate and trades in the 313-319 band. Meanwhile, currency dealers expect further slippage tomorrow. August may see multiple record lows of somewhere between 300-305.
Pertinently, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 81 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 128 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost 78 paisas against the dollar.
In a key development, the foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by $125 million on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On August 18, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.931 billion, down $125 million compared to $8.055 billion on August 11. In a statement, SBP said that the decline in reserves was on account of debt repayments.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $ 13.248 billion, down $131 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.318 billion, registering a decline of $6 million during the week.
The PKR was green against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained 27 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), 85 against the Australian Dollar (AUD), Rs. 1.35 against the Euro (EUR), and Rs. 2.65 against the British Pound (GBP).
Conversely, it lost 20 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and 21 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED) in today’s interbank currency market.