The Pakistani rupee was facing another drubbing from the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday a day after it closed at its weakest level since May 11, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency appreciated by 26 paisas against the greenback at the start of the business but soon the US dollar applied its mighty pressure cornering the Pakistani rupee, which ended the day at Rs294.93, down by massive margin of Rs3.43.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today https://t.co/IrYWbJWzwy#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/5ow2ZrPOyU
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 16, 2023
On Tuesday, the Pakistan rupee suffered a drubbing at the hands of the US dollar, ending the day at Rs291.51, depreciating 1.04%.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today https://t.co/PSffDJrHqg#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/wz2CYM0KFi
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 15, 2023
Rupee’s fall on Tuesday came as the caretaker setup took over from the coalition government to run affairs of the economy.
Additionally, inflows seemed to have dried up with foreign exchange reserves held by SBP falling $110 million on a weekly basis to stand at $8.04 billion as of August 4, data released in the previous week showed.
In a key development, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said that global economic conditions have largely contributed to higher inflation in Pakistan. “World economy remained under pressure in near past that also resulted in an increase in inflation in Pakistan and these conditions were further aggravated due to floods and delay in IMF program review,” he said.
He further said that the nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) agreed with the IMF has improved foreign reserves of the country and largely resolved near-term issues pertaining to the external sector of the economy.
Reporter Ashraf Khan