Pakistani rupee continues losing ground, closes at 233 in interbank

The Pakistani rupee continued to lose its value on Tuesday, closing near an all-time low of 233 against the dollar in the interbank market.

The local currency, which had closed at Rs229.88 yesterday, fell Rs3.05 to close at Rs232.93 today, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), reports The Dawn. 

 This amounts to a depreciation of 1.31 percent.

"The rupee hit a new intraday low due to letter of credit (LC) payments for oil at a time when the SBP was reluctant to release reserves to contain the exchange rate volatility," said Mettis Global Director Saad Bin Naseer

"Furthermore, exporters seem more interested in earning windfall profits as they seem to have abandoned national interest in view of gaining quick earnings from rupee depreciation," he added. 

Rupee's consistent decline
Between April 7 (when former prime minister Imran Khan was dismissed from power) and July 22, the rupee lost 21,3 percent of its value against the US dollar due to both the widening trade deficit and the growing political instability and unpredictability.

After reaching a high of 211.93 on June 22, the rupee strengthened to Rs204.56 in the first week of July. The currency continued to depreciate against the dollar until the country secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF on July 15, at which point it experienced a slight appreciation.

Since then, it has decreased in each subsequent session.

Last week, the rupee lost 8.25 percent of its value against the US dollar in a single week, falling from 210.95 per dollar on July 15 to 228.36 per dollar on July 22 — an all-time low.

The rupee slipped to Rs229.88 at the opening session of this week.