Dollar Rate Depreciates Again

Web Desk (LTN NEWS): On Thursday, the Pakistani currency went up by Rs2.65 on the interbank market. This was the fifth day in a row that the local unit was stronger than the dollar.

The rupee appreciated 2.65 or 1.17% against the dollar to reach 218 as buying rate and 226 as the selling rate in the open market. The rupee gained sharply a day earlier, as the dollar fell by 9.8 or 4.19%.

On the other side, the buying rate is 224 and the selling rate is 224.5 in the interbank as of Fri, Aug 05, 2022, 14:51 PST (GMT+5).

PKR rises Rs2.15 against the dollar in Interbank Market

On Friday, the rupee continued to appreciate versus the dollar in the interbank market, which has been on an upward trend for more than a week.
Rs2.15 in rupees versus the dollar was traded at Rs224 around 10:05 am, up 0.95 percent from the previous day’s closing of Rs226.15.
There is no panic in the interbank market right now, according to Mettis Global director Saad bin Naseer. Inflows, including export revenues and remittances, are being deposited, which means the PKR remains stable.
However, he argued that the government should investigate the “big game” being played by money changers, which he said was producing issues and losses for ordinary citizens.

At 240 in the interbank, money changers were selling dollars at rates of 250-255 in the open market. Dollars are being bought at 210/215 and sold in government Nostros for 225/226 today,” remarked the money changer.

He predicted that the rupee will continue to improve in the coming days, thanks to increased inflows of capital.
After a steady slide since July 15, the rupee hit a new low of 239.94 on July 28. It has shifted gears since the 29th of July, rising by Rs14.15 as of yesterday (Aug 4).

On Wednesday (Aug 3), the rupee rose by a record single-day gain of Rs9.59 (or 4.19 percent) to a new all-time high.
This significant gain by the rupee has stabilized the exchange market, as currency brokers believe swings will not be as unpredictable as they were in July when the dollar gained almost 13 percent versus the local currency.

Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) Chairman Malik Bostan said that the current government’s promises used to take a long time to come true. But this time, Pakistan’s import bill went down by $2 billion just a few days after Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that it would.

Statistics from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) show that imports have dropped by 38.3% over the past month. This is because the government banned a number of luxury items to deal with the lack of dollars in the economy, which caused a big drop in imports.

Not only did the number of imports go down, but the number of exports also went down. But the pressure on the rupee eased when the trade deficit went from $3.235 billion in July 2021 to $2.64 billion in July 2022, an 18.3% drop. The shortfall was $4.96 billion in June 2022.

Aside from this, Army Chief of Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa recently spoke with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to help speed up the IMF loan program’s revival.

Bostan said that right after this, the lender said that Pakistan had met all the requirements for the seventh and eighth reviews of the Extended Fund Facility. This shows that the army chief’s call was important.

Esther Perez Ruiz, who is the IMF’s resident representative for Pakistan, said in a statement on Tuesday that a board meeting is likely to happen in late August, once there are guarantees of enough money.

Bostan said that if the IMF gives Pakistan the $1.2 billion later in August, the dollar could fall to 180–190 against the Pakistani rupee and keep breaking records.