KARACHI: Pakistani rupee continued its winning streak against the US dollar in the interbank market for the 17th straight session and appreciated by Rs1.o5 on Wednesday.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 289.80 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 288.75, showing an appreciation of 0.36 percent.
The rupee has maintained its upward trajectory in recent days and recovered over 6 percent since hitting a record low of 307.1 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on September 5. The rupee gained Rs18.31 against the dollar in the last 17 trading sessions due to strict measures against Afghan transit and hawala. Today’s gains extended the upward trajectory that has continued since the army-backed crackdown on the illegal trade of the dollar began earlier this month. However, the rupee has depreciated by Rs2.76 during the current fiscal year 2023-24, and Rs61.33 in the current year.
Meanwhile, the local unit gained Rs3 in the open market and was quoted in the range of 287-290 a dollar against 290-293 a session earlier. The rupee has appreciated by Rs44 in the last 17 sessions.
The local currency has significantly gained in the past weeks, with analysts attributing the rise to an ongoing crackdown on illegal dollar outflows. Currency dealers said that exporters have been selling dollars on a large scale, fearing further devaluation. Moreover, reports of increased vigilance of the Afghan transit trade also contributed to the rupee’s rise, they added.
The experts say the rupee’s appreciation is on the back of administrative and enforcement measures, some believe the gain reflects the currency’s fundamental value if ‘speculation’ and negative sentiment were to be kept aside. “We expect PKR to further gain in coming days to at least reach Rs278-280 against USD, if these positive measures continue like this and some external flows materialize timely,” they added.
In a related development, the SBP data revealed that the official reserve assets, including foreign currency reserves, IMF reserve position, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), gold, and other reserve assets, stood at $12.97 billion as of August 31, 2023. The foreign currency reserves comprised securities, currency and deposits held with other national central banks, and banks headquartered in and outside Pakistan clocked in at $4.77 billion. The gold reserves, which include gold deposits and swapped gold, amounted to 2.079 million fine troy ounces, equivalent to $4.04 billion. – TLTP