PKR closes FY19 at 160 per dollar

June 28, 2019 (MLN): In a mind-boggling turn of events, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) bounced back with an appreciation of 4 rupees against US Dollar (USD) in today's interbank session as it closed the final session of fiscal year 2019 at PKR 160.05 per USD, against yesterday's closing of PKR 164.06 per USD.

The currency endured a highly volatile trading session with quotes being recorded within a range of 6.80 rupees per USD showing an intraday high bid of 163.80 and an intraday Low offer of 157.50.

In the second session, PKR appreciated briefly to 157/157.50 per USD before falling back to 160 level.

Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 157/160 per USD.

This round of appreciation eases Pakistan's external debt burden by Rs.423.75 billion which in dollar terms accounts for a $105.84 billion. Pakistan now owes external avenues a total of Rs.16.94 trillion.

During the year, PKR has hit an all-time low of 164.06 (on June 27, 2019, yesterday) and a year high of 121.54 (on July 9, 2018) whereas overall depreciation for the year stands at a net of Rs.38.55 or 31.73% against USD. the local currency had ended last fiscal year at 121.50 per dollar.

Meanwhile, the currency gained 2.5 rupees against the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 203.01 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 208.35 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value strengthened by 4.2 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 182.32 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted two Open Market Operations today. In the first of these OMO's the central bank injected Rs.702.65 billion for 7 days at 12.38 percent, while in the second OMO, it injected an additional 93.5 billion for 7 days at 12.33 percent.

The overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 12.40/12.60 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 12.35/12.40 percent.

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