Losing streak of rupee goes on as dollar hits Rs167.63

KARACHI: Pakistani rupee continued losing streak against the US dollar for the second consecutive day on Tuesday and weakened by 40 more paisas (-0.24 percent) in the interbank.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs167.23 and closed at Rs167.63. Last time, the rupee was seen trading at this level on August 18, 2020. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs167.20/168.20 per dollar.
Overall, Pakistani rupee shed Rs0.72 against the US dollar during the last two days, while depreciation during the fiscal year 2021-22 has been Rs10.27. The local unit has shed Rs7.44 against the US dollar in the current year 2021.
According to currency experts, the dollar’s demand remained high during the day, as higher import payment demand kept pressure on the local currency. They said that the rising deficit in the current account is also a major concern for the market.
Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 144 percent to $4.05 billion in August. The import bill for August 2021 posted a growth of 95 percent to $6.46 billion, compared with $3.31 billion in the same month of the last year.
The experts said that rupee has become the worst-performing currency in Asia from the best performer in March, which signifies a deteriorating market perception about the country’s capacity to finance its foreign payment obligations. The freeze on the IMF loan programme and the possible insecurity spillover from Afghanistan are also compounding economic uncertainties and keeping the rupee under pressure. – TLTP