PKR gains 11 paisa against USD

August 17, 2021 (MLN): While enduring oscillating journey, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) on Tuesday managed to gain strength against USD as it appreciated by 11 paisa in interbank session as the currency closed the trade at PKR 164.08 per USD.

Yesterday, the local unit had closed at PKR 164.19 per US dollar.

However, the ongoing situation in Afghanistan has created not only political but also economic turbulence throughout the region. Particularly, the developing countries with sensitive currency movements have found the circumstances quite disruptive.

Expressing his concerns over the current happenings, Asad Rizvi, the former treasury head at Chase Manhattan said, “Afghanistan has solely dependent on foreign aid and if international donor agencies freeze the flow of funds, it could choke economic activity that may have spillover effect on our economy and likely to take PKR under more pressure.”

The rupee endured a relatively dull trading session with very little intraday movement, trading in a range of 11 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 164.20 and an intraday Low offer of 164.12.

Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 163.80/164.60 per USD.

According to the data compiled by Mettis Global, the home unit has depreciated by 3.98% and 2.59% in FY22 and CY21, respectively with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a drop of 1.01%.

Alternatively, the currency lost 1.3 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 227.6 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 226.34 per GBP.

On the other hand, PKR's value strengthened by 38 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 193.17 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an Open Market Operation in which it injected Rs.58 billion for 3 days at 7.16 percent.

The overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 7.20/7.40 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 7.10/7.20 percent.

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