PKR falls by 26 paisa against USD

November 17, 2022 (MLN): Riding on a downward trail, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) has further shed 26 paisa against the US dollar in today's interbank session as the currency settled the trade at PKR 222.67 compared to yesterday's closing of 222.41 per USD.

During the session, the rupee traded in a band of 50 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 222.75 and low offer of 221.40 while in the open market, PKR was traded at 227.25/229.50 per USD.

The local unit is under pressure as importers have outstanding Letters of Credit (LCs) that created notable demand for dollars in the interbank market.

In addition to it, declining foreign exchange reserves, a slowdown in remittances, political unrest, and a delay in delay International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ninth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) have also dented PKR’s stability.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s benchmark 5-year Credit Default Swap (CDS) reached a historic high of 79.3%, and the swelling central government’s debt to Rs49.4 trillion in September 2022 has created uneasiness in the market.

In FYTD, PKR lost 17.82 rupees or 8%, while it plummeted by 46.15 rupees or 20.73% against the USD in CYTD, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

Meanwhile, the currency lost 1.1 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 265.41 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 264.35 per GBP.

On the other hand, PKR's value strengthened by 25 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 231.16 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 15.25/15.50%, whereas the 1-week rate was 15.05/15.15%.

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