Pakistan's rupee remained unchanged against the US dollar, staying near the 178-mark in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the PKR closed at 177.98 against the USD. This remains the weakest closing level for the rupee against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.
On Monday, the PKR had closed at the then-record low of 177.89 against the USD before gaining a meagre one paisa on Tuesday.
Cumulatively, the rupee has depreciated over 11% CYTD and 13% on a FYTD basis against the US dollar.
“The rising trade deficit is a major concern, as the outflow of dollars is adding pressure on the local currency,” Malik Bostan, President Pakistan Forex Association of Pakistan, told Business Recorder.
The currency dealer added that imports are rising, whereas the remittance flows are declining on monthly basis, which is increasing the current account deficit.
Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 111.74% to $20.590 billion during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year 2021-22 as compared to $9.724 billion during the same period of 2020-21.
Meanwhile, inflows of home remittances declined by 6.5% on monthly basis in November 2021 over October 2021, as the country received $2.352 billion of inflows during November 2021 against $2.517 billion in October 2021.
Bostan added that despite a staff-level agreement between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government authorities, there are conditions that need to be met before the international lender disburses $1 billion to Pakistan.
The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which would make available Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 750 million (about US$1,059 million), bringing total disbursements under the EFF to about $3,027 million and helping unlock significant funding from bilateral and multilateral partners.
He said exporters are buying dollars from the black market at high rates and are showing as dollars received from goods sold to Afghanistan.
Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday
BID Rs 177.90
OFFER Rs 178
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained 1.10 rupees for buying and 60 paisas for selling against USD, closing at 178.90 and 179.90, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 201 and 202.50, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 10 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 50 and 50.40, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 47.30 and 47.75, respectively.
Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday
BID Rs 178.90
OFFER Rs 179.90
