Pakistani rupee crashes to Rs269 against US dollar
January 30, 2023 11:10 AM
The toothless Pakistani rupee kept suffering at the hands of mighty US dollar as the greenback topped the Rs269 mark in the interbank trading on Monday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar resumed its hammering of the local currency and it appreciated by Rs7.03 in the interbank trading. The greenback ended the day at Rs269.63.
https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1620002077345988608
On the last trading day on Friday, Pakistani rupee had witnessed significant depreciation against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, falling 2.73%. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee had closed at 262.60 after a fall of Rs7.17.
https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1618911509287161863
The depreciation comes as Pakistan moves to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it has a no-holds-barred exchange rate, ahead of the Fund’s visit to Islamabad.
Many analysts said the rupee was bound to see significant depreciation as part of the prior conditions to revive the IMF bailout programme.
The IMF had also announced its mission will visit Pakistan from January 31-February 9 to continue the discussions for the 9th review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The IMF programme revival has been deemed crucial in the face of fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP that dropped a massive $923 million to a mere $3.7 billion, data released on Thursday last showed. This was the lowest level of SBP-held reserves since February 2014.
Reporter Malik Ashraf