Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Dollar soared to a new rate in the interbank market due to political uncertainty in the country and closed just shy of Rs240.9 as buying rate and 246.15 as the selling rate in the open market at 13:12 PST (GMT+5).
The interbank rates close at 238.75 as buying and 239.5 as selling today at 13:12 PST (GMT+5).
Pressure on the rupee will go down
A day earlier, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said he was hopeful that the pressure on the rupee, which has dropped sharply against the dollar in recent weeks, would ease in the next two weeks.
The minister said that he would try to make sure that more dollars were coming into the country every day than were leaving.
Ismail said that efforts to cut down on imports would pay off, and the dollar’s value would go down. He also said that things would get better in the next two weeks.
“But, to be honest, nobody knows anything about the market. I can see that the facts are on my side, but rumors and feelings also play a role.”
Separately, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Ministry of Finance said in a joint statement that the rupee was “fully expected to appreciate” due to a smaller current account deficit and better mood.
“It’s clear that the rupee can temporarily go too high, as it has recently. But over time, it goes both ways. We think this pattern will come back in the next few months.”
