PKR decreases by 18 paisa against greenback

December 13, 2021 (MLN): Continuing its losing momentum, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) depreciated by 18 paisa on Monday as the currency settled the trade at PKR 177.89 per USD, against last session's closing of PKR 177.71.

Throughout the session, the local unit traded in a range of 55 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 178 and an intraday low offer of 177.45.

PKR is hovering around an all-time high as the currency is undergoing a fundamental realignment which left the market perplexed about the direction in many ways, Asad Rizvi, the Former Treasury Head at Chase Manhattan said today.

“Nothing is helping, inflow of funds, higher remittances or interest rate differential with further hike priced,” he added.  

However, it is pertinent to note that the volatility seems relatively stable when compared to the previous weeks’ session wherein the sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday pushed PKR by 31 and 64 paisa consecutively.   

The local unit has depreciated by 11.44% or PKR 20.34 in the fiscal year-to-date against the USD. Similarly, the rupee has weakened by 10.15% or PKR 18.05 in CY21, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 1.22%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

As per the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), PKR lost 90 paisa for buying and 60 paisa for selling over the day closed at 179.80 and 180.50 respectively in the open market.

Meanwhile, the currency lost 78 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 235.34 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 234.55 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 28 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 200.83 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 9.40/9.60 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 9.15/9.25 percent.

Copyright Mettis Link News