Until today, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) had constantly been posting losses against the US Dollar (USD) in the interbank currency market since the beginning of the current fiscal year.
Today, PKR turned the tide for the first time since July 2 and posted gains against the greenback.
PKR lost 30 paisas against the USD on Monday, jumping over Rs. 158 to the USD boundary. It deteriorated even further by 19 paisas on Tuesday, by 54 paisas on Wednesday, and by 41 paisas on Thursday, jumping over Rs. 159 to the USD boundary.
Today (July 9), PKR traded in the range of Rs. 158.83 to the USD to Rs. 159.61 to the USD before closing at Rs. 159.16 to the USD with gains of 16 paisas over yesterday’s (July 8) exchange rate of Rs. 159.33 to the USD.
According to the financial analytics firm Capital Stake, the PKR has improved by 6.27 percent against the USD year-to-date during FY2021.
On a month-to-date comparison, PKR has lost 1.03 percent or Rs. 1.62 to the USD, while on a weekly comparison basis, PKR is 0.82 percent or Rs. 1.29 lower than it was a week ago against the greenback.
The PKR has lost Rs. 1.79 to the USD since 1 July on account of higher demand from importers and oil payments.
Experts believe that global currencies are under pressure after FED’s Hawkish tone fearing early interest rate hike. The rising oil prices are also adding pressure on the local unit due to fear of flight of capital.
Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at the Chase Manhattan Bank, said earlier in the day, “Funding from China & World Bank pushed Fx Reserves to $24.415 billion. Eurobond $1 billion will be updated in next week’s data. Despite nearly $300 million payments, more is in pipeline that may add pressure on PKR”.
The PKR posted mixed results against the other major currencies in the interbank currency market today. It lost 4 paisas against the Euro, deteriorated by 11 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD), and went down by 38 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD). However, it improved by 17 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP).
PKR also improved by 4.6 paisas against both the UAE Dirham (AED) and the Saudi Riyal (SAR) in the interbank currency market today.
Source: Pro Pakistani