Falling rupee took a breather against the dollar in the interbank market by recovering 29 paisa (+0.16 percent) on Monday. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the dollar opened at Rs176.77 and closed at Rs176.48. The rupee made a recovery against the US dollar after a deposit of $3 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by Saudi Development Fund (SDF). Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 178/178.50 per dollar. Earlier, the dollar hit the highest ever levels of Rs176.77, Rs176.42 and Rs176.20 against the local currency during the last week. Overall, the local currency shed Rs1.31 against the greenback during the last week. The rupee’s depreciation during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 has been Rs19.06 and Rs16.33 in the current year 2021. According to experts, the $3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia is expected to help in reducing currency volatility going forward. Last Saturday, Pakistan received $3 billion from Saudi Arabia under a support package, Adviser to the PM on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin tweeted. They said at the opening of the market, the local currency recovered Rs1.07 against the dollar. However, the demand for import payments escalated the demand for the greenback. They said the market was anticipating significant recovery in the rupee value. Since the market opened after two weekly holidays, the dollar’s demand remained high, they added. The rupee is under severe pressure due to a surge in import bill and widening trade deficit. Official data revealed that Pakistan’s trade deficit ballooned by 112 percent to $20.59 billion during the first five months (July-October) of the current fiscal year 2021-22. The trade deficit was at $9.72 billion in the same months of the last fiscal year. Pakistan’s import bill surged by 69.17 percent to $32.934 billion during July–November 2021-22 as compared to $19.468 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year. The exports of the country also surged by 26.68 percent to $12.344 billion during the period under review as compared to $9.744 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.