Rupee declines by 26 paisas to dollar on import demand

Rupee declines by 26 paisas to dollar on import demand

KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) declined by 26 paisas against the US dollar on Tuesday due to higher foreign currency demand for import payment.

The local unite ended at Rs176.18 to the dollar from last day’s closing of Rs175.92 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

READ MORE: Rupee recovers 15 paisas against dollar in interbank

Currency experts said that the market witnessed higher dollar demand since start of the day. The reports of surge in international oil prices increased the dollar demand.

The international oil prices witnessed significant rise and recorded $87.50 per barrel during the trading.

READ MORE: SBP warns banks of penal action for delaying transaction alerts

Pakistan is one of the major importers of petroleum products. The oil import grew by 113 per cent to $10.18 billion during first half 2021/2022 as compared with $4.77 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

The experts said that the falling foreign exchange reserves were also a major threat for rupee’s stability in days ahead.

READ MORE: NBP directed to pay Rs0.5 million to fraud victim

The foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by $118 million to $23.901 billion by the week ended January 07, 2022 as compared with $24.019 billion by the week ended December 31, 2021.

The official reserves of the SBP declined by $88 million to $17.598 billion by the week ended January 07, 2022 as compared with $17.686 billion a week ago.

READ MORE: SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings