Daily Times

Pakistan rupee continued depreciating against the US dollar in the interbank for the fourth straight day on Thursday and reached its lowest level since February 2021 by shedding 42 paisas (-0.26 percent) more . According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs158.92 and closed at Rs159.33. Within the open market, the US dollar was traded at 159.50/160.30. Pakistani rupee has shed Rs1.49 against the US dollar during the last four days. However, the local unit has gained Rs8.68 against the greenback in the current fiscal year 2020-21 while appreciation has been Rs0.78 in 2021. The currency experts said that payment demand for import has witnessed an increase as economic activities have gained momentum. They said that the demand for the foreign currency remained high during the day due to corporate and import payments. They said that increasing import bill due to higher oil prices may pose another threat to domestic currency. They were of the view that given the whole scenario, the rupee is heading towards a challenging quarter. They said the depreciation in home currency has occurred due to an escalated volume bill of oil which will be the highest amount to be paid by the government if it averages at $65 or above in FY22.