Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

Rupee falls to new historic low to dollar at 182.64

KARACHI: The Pakistan Rupee (PKR) made new record low against dollar at Rs182.64 on Wednesday.

The rupee fell by 30 paisas against the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs182.34 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

READ MORE: Rupee deteriorates record low to dollar at 182.34

Currency experts said that the dollar demand remained high during the day due to falling foreign exchange reserves, volatiles commodity prices in international markets and political uncertainty.

READ MORE: Dollar jumps to new record high at PKR 182.19

Large external payments against foreign debts depressed the rupee value. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.28 billion to $21.44 billion by March 18, 2022 as compared with $23.72 billion as of February 4, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country hit record high at $27.23 billion on August 27, 2021.

READ MORE: Dollar continues historic journey; tops at PKR 181.78

The ballooning current account deficit escalated the dollar value. Pakistan’s current account deficit ballooned to $12 billion during first eight months (July – February) 2021/2022 against a surplus of $994 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year. Although the current account deficit narrowed to $545 million in February 2022 as compared with the deficit of $2.53 billion in January 2022, scheduled external repayments are still a threat to balance of payment.

READ MORE: Dollar maintains record high against PKR at Rs181.73