Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Monday was a bad day for the rupee. In the interbank market, it lost Rs2.01 against the US dollar.
The State Bank of Pakistan says that the local currency ended the day at Rs216.66 per dollar, up from Rs214.65 on Friday.
FAP Chairman Malik Bostan said that the drop in the value of the rupee today was caused by the recent decision to allow imports of luxury goods and pressure from exporters to keep the dollar rate around Rs216.
“Business banks are also buying dollars at high rates, which raises the value of the greenback. To stop the value of the dollar from going up, the central bank needs to keep commercial banks in check,” Bostan said.
Komal Mansoor, who is in charge of research at Tresmark, a web-based terminal for financial markets, said that traders were worried not only about the policy rate announcement today, but also about foreign exchange reserves, inflation, and the local currency.
“Politics is making their problems worse. RDA [Roshan Digital Account] inflows have slowed, the IMF inflow has been mostly taken into account, and there is a long list of imports waiting to be paid for (though they will be financed by inflows). “Because of this, the rupee may move back and forth between 220 and 225 for short periods of time,” she said.
