The Pakistani rupee fell 5th day in a row against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 277 in the interbank market.
At 11:30 PM, it was initially bullish, treading the 277 level against the greenback after gaining ~Rs. 3.
Later, the interbank rate dropped to the 280 level between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM before anchoring trends for the remainder of the day. Open market rates across multiple currency counters stood in the 277-281 range today.
At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.17 percent to close at 280.57 after losing 48 paisas against the dollar today.
The rupee closed in the red for the 5th consecutive day today.
The gap between interbank and open market rates is down by Rs. 61 since 4 September. The rates have gone down to as low as 277 and have since continued brief spikes to 281 today.
Pertinently, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 63 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 110 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost 21 paisas against the dollar.
Traders link the rupee’s near-term outlook on the International Monetary Fund visiting Pakistan next week for the economic review of the $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA).
The review comes in continuation of the 9-month SBA which was approved in July. Next week’s review of the ongoing program is expected to provide a forward-facing policy anchor for potentially unlocking the remaining bailout plus addressing domestic and external imbalances plus any pending issues with te forex market.
The PKR was red against all of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost 13 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and 13 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED).
Moreover, it lost 18 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), 64 paisas against the Euro (EUR), Rs. 1.21 against the British Pound (GBP), and Rs. 1.31 against the Australian Dollar (AUD) in today’s interbank currency market.
