The US dollar seemed to remain persistent in its upward swing keeping the Pakistani rupee pressured under its might as the greenback has appreciated by a massive Rs2.76 in interbank trading, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Sharing the money market data, the forex dealers informed that towards the close the US currency moved up and exchanged at Rs228.18, up by an imposing Rs2.76 during interbank trading on Friday. 

https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1568174984681472002?cxt=HHwWhIC-ueG1o8MrAAAA

Earlier during the morning trading activity, the US rate was even higher at Rs229 by 11am, up by Rs3.58 as compared to yesterday’s close of Rs225.42. 

https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1567813674579927041

The Pakistani currency is constantly shedding its value since the start of this week as the US dollar has gained Rs9.20 during the current week. 

Though the country’s foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $8 billion with the disbursement of $1.16 billion from the IMF, the local unit still continues to slide. 

The rupee is under pressure because of numerous factors including shortage of dollars in market due to the UAE law for Pakistani travelers asking them to carry 5,000 UAE dirhams, government expenditure on the import of material/products in the wake of large-scale destruction wreaked by the recent floods, and on top of that the forthcoming debt servicing worth billions of rupees. Besides these, the US dollar was rallying all across the world. However, the USD dominance took a breather and on Friday as the Euro gained on the outsized rate hike from the European Central Bank. 

Reporter Ashraf Khan