Rupee plummets record low at Rs215.20 to dollar

Rupee plummets record low at Rs215.20 to dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) plunged to record low at Rs215.20 against the dollar on Monday in interbank foreign exchange market.

The exchange rate ended with a loss of Rs4.25 in the rupee value to end at Rs215.20 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs210.95 in the interbank foreign exchange market, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Previously, the local currency hit the historic low at Rs211.92 on June 22, 2022.

READ MORE: PKR slips to Rs210.95 against dollar despite IMF agreement

Currency experts said that political uncertainty caused panic in the market. The PTI secured major seats in by-election of Punjab, which imbalanced the power in the center and the provincial level governments. Besides, the fall in foreign exchange reserves also causing rupee depreciation.

The foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have depleted by $454 million to $15.742 billion by week ended June 30, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $16.196 billion a week ago i.e. June 24, 2022.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $11.486 billion.

READ MORE: Rupee recovers 30 paisas to dollar on IMF agreement

The official reserves of the State Bank also recorded a decline of $493 million to $9.816 billion by week ended June 30, 2022 as compared with $10.309 billion a week ago.

The central bank attributed the decline in foreign exchange reserves to external debt repayments.

It is pertinent to mention that the SBP received about $2.3 billion from Chinese banks for buildup of foreign exchange reserves. However, despite receiving the amount the external debt payment kept the pressure on the reserves.

READ MORE: Rupee drops to Rs210.10 against dollar in interbank

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the official reserves of the SBP declined by $10.33 billion.

The SBP on July 07, 2022 announced a hike of 125 basis points in policy rate to bring at 15 per cent. The purpose of increasing the interest rate was to curb the demand and support the rupee value. However, the effort of the SBP failed to support the rupee value.

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