For the eighth consecutive working day, the Pakistani rupee depreciated against the US dollar in the interbank market, falling by Rs2.1 on Tuesday. The Pakistani rupee decreased to Rs231, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), after losing Rs2.1 during intraday trade in the interbank market.
While this was going on, currency traders at the open market kept selling rupees for between Rs236 and Rs238 per dollar. In the previous seven working days, the rupee has dropped cumulatively 5.13% (or Rs11.22) in the interbank market from the recorded figure of Rs218.6 on August 1, 2022. On July 28, 2022, the value of the rupee had already reached an all-time low of Rs239.94.
The local currency fell 0.91% from yesterday’s end of Rs229.82 to settle at Rs231.92 per $1 in today’s session.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/ITFdjpKw8B pic.twitter.com/LxIGLPyVyd
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) September 13, 2022
According to a report by Dawn, Abdullah Zaki, a former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), stated that one of the problems facing merchants was the daily fluctuations in exchange rates. “How is it possible to import? The inflation rate may rise more if the exchange rate is not regulated.
Zaki lamented the difficulties with which commercial banks were opening letters of credit (LCs). “We worry that the import of raw materials required for the export business may cease if the barriers to opening LCs are not lifted.
In order to stabilize the currency rate and put an end to uncertainty, the former KCCI president urged Finance Minister Miftah Ismail to “quickly” meet relevant parties and develop a specific strategy.
Experts claim that a number of causes, such as a rise in import costs as a result of flooding, smuggling, and friendly nations breaking their commitment to lend Pakistan money once it had received a loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund, are to blame for the rupee’s slide.
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