KARACHI: The US dollar on Wednesday touched a new peak of Rs173.47 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The free-fall in the value of Pak Rupee (PKR) continued as the local unit recorded 10 percent depreciation against dollar since the start of the current fiscal year.
The rupee lost Rs15.93 to the dollar when compared the value of Rs157.54 to dollar on June 30, 2021 with Rs173.47 as on October 20, 2021.
The rupee recorded 69 paisas decline from last trading on Monday October 18, 2021 at Rs172.78 to the dollar in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the market opened after the public holiday which put pressure on import payment demand. Further, the reports of significant widening in the current account deficit also put pressure on dollar demand.
The current account deficit ballooned to $3.4 billion during July – September 2021 as compared with a surplus of $865 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
