KARACHI: Pakistani rupee continued setting new lows against the US dollar in the interbank market for the eighth straight session and plunged to yet another low of 305.54 on Thursday, depreciating by Rs1.09 (-0.36 percent).
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 303.45 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 305.54.
The rupee depreciated against the US dollar in the interbank market by Rs5.22 last week, Rs19.55 during the current fiscal year 2023-24, and Rs78.11 in the current year.
Similarly, the local unit depreciated against the greenback in the open market by Re1 (-0.31 percent). The rupee was quoted in the range of 321-324 against the dollar in the open market as compared to 320-323 a session earlier. In the black market/Hundi, the dollar surged to Rs341 as compared to Rs340 in the previous session.
The consistent devaluation of the rupee is not only causing inflation but is also compelling the central bank to raise interest rates to mitigate the repercussions of uncontrolled depreciation of the local currency, according to bankers who manage exchange rates and imports.
“The market is not in control of anyone. The steep devaluation will continue and even cross the limit given by the IMF,” a senior banker said, adding that nobody knows what is next for the exchange rate.
According to currency dealers, this fast deprecation of local currency is alarming for the government in charge. There must be some pause in the frequent free fall of the rupee,they added.- TLTP