Daily Times

Pakistan rupee remained relatively firm against the US dollar during the last week in the interbank market and shed Rs0.05 (-0.029 percent), mainly due to the steps taken by the government to stop falling value of the local unit against the greenback.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs170.48 on Monday last and closed at Rs170.53 on Friday, the last working day of the week. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs170/172.50 per dollar during the week. During the last week, the rupee weakened by 32 paisas (-0.19 percent) on Monday; however, it remained unchanged on Tuesday. It touched the lowest ever value against the US dollar on Wednesday when it dipped by 16 paisas (-0.09 percent) to close at 170.96; however, the next two days remained positive for the local unit and it recovered 9 paisas (+0.05 percent) on Thursday and 34 paisas (+0.20 percent) on Friday.

The Pakistani rupee has depreciated by Rs13.11 during the fiscal year 2021-22, while the local unit has shed Rs10.26 against the US dollar in the current year 2021. The local currency has maintained a downtrend after it touched 22-month high of Rs152.27 in May 2021, losing a cumulative Rs18.22 in the past five months to date.

The currency experts said that the rupee made some gains as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) introduced more restrictions to curb outflows of foreign currency during the last couple of weeks. The experts said the measures taken by the central bank, inflows of home remittances and export receipts helped the rupee make recovery during the session.

In its latest measures, the central bank allowed the people travelling to Afghanistan to carry just $1,000 per person per visit with the maximum annual limit of $6,000. The SBP also made it mandatory for the exchange companies to undertake biometric verification for foreign currency sale or purchase transactions above $500.

According to the experts, ballooning import bill remains a threat to the rupee stability, as the imports during the first quarter of the current fiscal year registered a phenomenal growth of 65 percent, compared with the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year. The import bill of the country surged to $18.63 billion during the first quarter (July–September) of 2021-22, compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.