On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee declined to a historic low against the US dollar as the greenback touched the magic mark of Rs200 in intrabank trading.
According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the US gained Rs1.61 in the interbank market from the previous day’s close of Rs198.39 and climbed to Rs200 around 11:30am.
The domestic currency has maintained the trend of making and breaking records for the eighth consecutive working day as it cumulatively lost nearly 8% or Rs15 in the last ten sessions.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/6ZuXvzoJAt pic.twitter.com/oK4DoAVXDw
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) May 18, 2022
The experts said that the rise of the US dollar was due to the continued pressure from the import bill on the Pakistani rupee and the depleting foreign reserves.
Pakistan has repeatedly sought international support for its economy, which has been hit by crippling national debt, galloping inflation and a plummeting rupee.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the continuous depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar. The premier will convene an important meeting today on the economic situation to discuss issues related to preventing the currency from devaluing.
According to the directives issued by PM Shehbaz, relevant authorities will present an implementation report on the decision regarding the ban on importing non-essential items.