Rupee falls to new all-time low 176.42 viz dollar

KARACHI: Pakistani rupee plunged on Thursday against the US dollar in the interbank market to hit an all-time low of Rs176.42.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the dollar opened at Rs175.48 and closed at Rs176.42, shedding 94 paisas (-o.53 percent). Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 176.50/178 per dollar.
Earlier, the dollar hit the highest ever level of Rs176.20 against the local currency on Monday last. Overall, the local currency shed 96 paisas against the greenback during the last four days. The rupee’s depreciation during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 has been Rs19 and Rs16.27 in the current year 2021.
The rupee plunged owing to a huge trade deficit during the first five months of the current fiscal year 2021-22. The country recorded the highest-ever monthly trade deficit of $5.1 billion in November 2021. For November 2021, exports stood at $2.9 billion with 34 percent increase on a year-on-year basis and 18 percent increase on a month-on-month basis, while the imports surged to $8 billion, showing a year-on-year increase of 95 percent and a month-on-month increase of 26 percent. – TLTP