Dollar surges to PKR 238 at midday interbank

KARACHI: The US dollar surged to Pakistani Rupee (PKR) at 238 at midday interbank foreign exchange market on Monday.

The foreign currency started the week to continue the gaining momentum of past 11 sessions against the local currency.

US dollar made so far another PKR 1.16 to trade at PKR 238 from last Friday’s closing of PKR 236.84 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency experts said that the falling foreign exchange reserves and high import payment pressured the local currency.

They said that usually dollar demand remained higher by end of each quarter due to oil payments and demand from corporate sector.

Furthermore, they said that the recent statement of Finance Minister Miftah Ismail regarding lack of inflows from friendly countries also sent disappointments to the currency market.

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

The rupee has witnessed a continuous depreciation against the greenback even after the inflows received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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.

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 over $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.