Daily Times

The Pakistani rupee continues to slide against the US dollar.

On Monday, the US dollar’s rise against the rupee continued unabatedly. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to determine today whether to grant a loan tranche totaling US$1.18 billion to Pakistan.

According to forex dealers, the US dollar increased by Rs1.34 to trade at Rs222 in the interbank market while banks are selling the dollar for Rs222.50.

The open market price range for the US currency is between Rs229 and Rs231.

After weeks of strengthening against the US dollar, the rupee continued to lose ground on Friday, with the greenback trading at Rs230 in the open market.

The US dollar increased by Rs1.25 to trade at Rs220.66 in the interbank market, while banks are selling it for Rs221.20, according to forex traders. The dollar fluctuated between Rs228 and Rs230 on the open market.

The rupee began a declining trend during the ongoing week despite assurances of IMF for release of US$1.17 billion tranche and investments of upto US$4 billion confirmed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The United States dollar surged to a 20-year high against a basket of currencies on Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled interest rates would be kept higher for longer to bring down soaring inflation.

The dollar index scaled to a fresh two-decade peak of 109.44 in the Asia trade, with greenback strength pushing other major currencies to new lows and putting pressure on its emerging markets counterparts.

The dollar hit 138.88 against the Japanese yen, the highest since July 21, while the offshore yuan fell to a fresh two-year low of 6.93 per dollar.

Sterling also fell to a 2-1/2-year low of $1.1656 and was last down 0.61 percent to $1.16, while the euro fell 0.49pc to $0.99.

The moves extended dollar gains made on Friday when Powell warned there would be “some pain” for households and businesses as it will take time for the Fed to control inflation.