KARACHI: The US dollar eased by six paisas against the Pak Rupee (PKR) on Tuesday due to foreign inflows seen during the day.
The rupee ended at Rs177.41 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs177.47 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Rupee dips 36 paisas to dollar in interbank
Currency experts said that inflows in the shape of export receipts and foreign remittances were also seen during the day. They however said that rising oil prices in the international markets may put pressure on the local currency.
The oil prices in the international markets remained volatile since Russia launched attacks on Ukraine.
Pakistan is one of the major importers of petroleum products. The import bill of petroleum group recorded an increase of 107 per cent to $11.7 billion during first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $5.64 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Rupee plunges 72 paisas to dollar on Russia War
Due to rising import payments, the current account deficit of the country is also widening. The Current Account Deficit (CAD) widened to its highest ever monthly deficit of $2.6 billion in January 2022 ($1.9 billion in December 2021) taking CAD of $11.6 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.
READ MORE: PKR slides 23 paisas to dollar on Russia-Ukraine war
The external payments also depleting foreign exchange reserves. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan declined by $264 million to $23.226 billion by the week ended February 18, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $23.49 billion by the week ended February 11, 2022. The official reserves of the State Bank fell by $289 million to $16.807 billion by the week ended February 18, 2022 as compared with $17.096 billion a week ago.
