December 9, 2021 (MLN):Continuing its downward slide, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) has lost its ground by a further 57 paisa during the intraday trade as the currency fell to PKR 178 against USD (11:59 PST) on Thursday.
Expressing his views on the PKR depreciation, Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at Chase Manhattan said, It seems nothing is working in the favor of the domestic unit. Monetary Policy is due on Dec 14, but SBP doesn’t discuss Rupee.
“Elsewhere, under normal circumstances hike in Interest Rate makes currency attractive due to Interest rate differential. In our part of the world, it doesn’t”, he added.
The continuous fall of PKR is primarily attributed to the historic surge of the import bill which had caught everyone's attention. The government is now looking for ways to make a substantial decline in the bill.
In this connection, Advisor to the Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin advised the concerned authorities to take effective policy measures to reduce unnecessary imports of luxury items.
He also added that there would be less import of food items, furnace oil, and vaccine in the coming months that would significantly reduce the pressure on trade bill in the second half of the current fiscal year.
