Dollar hits PKR 232 in midday interbank trading

Dollar hits PKR 232 in midday interbank trading

KARACHI: The US dollar maintained its upward journey against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) and hit Rs 232 in midday interbank trading on Tuesday.

The exchange rate witnessed a fall of Rs2.18 in rupee value as the dollar is being traded Rs232 from previous day’s closing of at Rs229.82 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

READ MORE: PKR falls for 7th straight day; dollar jumps to Rs229.82

It is worth mentioning that the rupee recorded all-time low of Rs239.94 on July 28, 2022.

The rupee witnessed free fall against the dollar and plunged for 7th straight day against dollar a day earlier as the US dollar jumped to Rs229.82 in interbank foreign exchange market.

READ MORE: Rupee weakens sixth straight day; dollar ends PKR 228.18

The rupee has witnessed a continuous depreciation against the greenback even after the inflows received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The local currency has recorded Rs11.22 against the foreign currency during the past seven sessions. The local unit was at Rs218.60 to the dollar on September 01, 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan received $1.1 billion from the IMF under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on August 31, 2022 following the executive board of the IMF approved the loan program on August 29, 2022.

READ MORE: Pakistani Rupee weakens; Dollar jumps to PKR 225.42 at interbank

Currency experts said that the rupee was under immense pressure due to high import payment demand and losses to the economy due to floods.

They said that high import payments by end of this quarter and corporate payments put pressure on the rupee value.

The rupee made some recovery against the greenback after the IMF fund was transferred to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). However, the removal of sanction on import of luxury and non-essential items the rupee again started free fall.

READ MORE: Dollar strengthens to PKR 223.42 at interbank closing

The currency experts said that although the IMF inflows would help the further inflows under bilateral and multilateral sources. However, the devastation of floods has changed the economic environment scenario.

The torrential rains and flash floods have inflicted a loss of $10 billion to Pakistan’s economy. The devastation will prompt the country to make imports in the coming days, especially for agriculture products. The rupee also fell due to continuous depletion in foreign exchange reserves of the country.