KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee (PKR) on Monday continued its upward journey against the dollar and strengthened for seventh consecutive session.
The rupee made a gain of PKR 1.16 to end at PKR 227.29 against the dollar as compared with last Friday’s closing of PKR 228.45 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
The local unit gained PKR 12.42 against the dollar during the last five sessions. The exchange rate reached a record low of PKR 239.71 on September 22, 2022 to the dollar but ended at PKR 227.29 on October 01, 2022.
Market analysts said that the assumption of the charge of the finance minister by Ishaq Dar impacted the market positively.
A day earlier Ishaq Dar took oath as federal minister. Previously, he was known to effectively control the exchange rate in the last tenure of PML (N) government.
READ MORE: Rupee gains for sixth straight session against dollar; recovers PKR 11.26
Meanwhile, the international oil prices also crashed which helped the rupee to make gains.
It is worth mentioning that the rupee on last Friday recovered against the dollar after witnessing a consecutive 15-session fall.
During this period the local currency depreciated by PKR 21.10 against the dollar from the interbank closing on September 01, 2022 at PKR 218.60.
The local currency witnessed the historic low at PKR 239.94 to the dollar on July 28, 2022.
Currency experts said that the rupee recovered because of the contraction in the current account deficit. Pakistan current account deficit recorded a contraction of 19 per cent during the first two months (July – August) of the current fiscal year 2022/2023.
Further, the experts said that the recent measures taken by the SBP also helped the rupee to gain value.
READ MORE: PKR makes recovery against dollar for fourth straight session
However, the rupee failed to get support from the latest announcement of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) about the funds of Saudi Arabia.
The rupee has witnessed a continuous depreciation against the greenback even after the inflows received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The local currency recorded 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.
READ MORE: PKR strengthens sharply to dollar during last three sessions
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.
