December 27, 2021 (MLN):Pakistani rupee (PKR) closed the trade on Monday at 178.17 per US dollar, registering a drop of only 4 paisa in the interbank market.
While holding its ground, the local unit in the previous session had settled the trade at PKR 178.13 per USD.
Throughout the session, the rupee traded in a narrow range of 25 paisa showing an intraday high bid of 178.25 and an intraday low offer of 178.
The local unit has depreciated by 11.58% or PKR 20.62 in the fiscal year-to-date against the USD. Similarly, the rupee has weakened by 10.29% or PKR 18.33 in CY21, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 1.38%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.
Unlike now, due to talk suspension with IMF in June FY22, conditions were easy. Presently, SBP is making adjustments, Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at Chase Manhattan said in his Tweet.
“We have already seen 7 & 63 days 2-RR injections and one more could come before the T-bill auction,” he added.
As per the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), PKR lost 1.9 rupees for buying and 1.3 rupees for selling over the day closed at 180.80 and 181.20 respectively in the open market.
Meanwhile, the currency lost 24 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 238.96 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 238.72 per GBP.
On the other hand, PKR's value strengthened by 8 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 201.86 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an Open Market Operation (OMO) in which it injected Rs49.95 billion into the market for 4 days at 9.8 percent.
The overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 9.75/9.90 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 9.75/9.85 percent.
