PKR edges lower by 18 paisa against greenback

December 26, 2022 (MLN): On the back of rising economic uncertainty, weak fundamentals, and political upheaval, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) remained under pressure as the currency lost18 paisa against the US dollar in today's interbank session as the currency settled the trade at PKR 225.82 per USD compared to the previous closing of PKR 225.64 per USD.

During the session, the rupee traded in a band of 10 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 225.75 and low offer of 225.90 while in the open market, PKR was traded at 232.20/234.52 per USD.

On the economic front, the foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $583.8 million to the critical level of $6.12 billion during the week ended on December 22, 2022, the lowest since April 2014.

Adding more fuel to the fire, global rating agency S&P Global has downgraded Pakistan’s long-term sovereign credit rating to “CCC+” from “B” due to high external risk.

In FYTD, PKR lost 19.85 rupees or 8.83%, while it plummeted by 48.18 rupees or 21.44% against the USD in CYTD, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

Meanwhile, the currency remained unchanged at Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 272.27 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 272.27 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 14 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 239.87 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 16.25%/16.50%, whereas the 1-week rate was 16.05%/16.15%.

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