Dollar slips to Rs165.81 after sheds 47 paisas

KARACHI: Pakistan rupee snapped the losing streak against the US dollar in the interbank on Thursday and recovered Rs0.47 (+0.28 percent).
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs166.28 and closed at Rs165.81. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs166.20/166.70 per dollar.
Overall, Pakistani rupee shed Rs1.63 against the US dollar during the last four days, while depreciation during the fiscal year 2021-22 has been Rs8.45. The local unit has shed Rs5.62 against the US dollar in the current year 2021.
According to currency dealers, the dollar continued making gains in early day trading and the exchange rate went up to Rs166.40 against the greenback but later, the market witnessed supply of the greenback, which helped the rupee recover. They said the external payments pressure would continue to haunt the local currency in the coming days.
They said the rupee has been struggling owing to the situation in Afghanistan and higher import bill. They said that delay in payments from Afghanistan against Pakistan’s export has created pressure on the rupee.
They pointed out that Afghan traders are opening import LCs from Pakistan as they cannot open from their own country due to ongoing turbulence which has also weighed on the rupee. They feared that demand for the dollar for machinery import is likely to persist in the coming days, which may put pressure on the local currency. – TLTP