July 28, 2021 (MLN): Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued to lose its ground for the second consecutive session, settled lower by 57 paisa at PKR 161.9 per USD in today's interbank market against previous closing of PKR 161.33 per USD.
The continuous pressure on the local unit is mainly attributable to the higher import bill which has pushed current account balance in to negative zone. Moreover, low tax to GDP ratio is another cause of worry in terms of rupee stability, Asad Rizvi, former Country Treasurer of Chase Manhattan Bank said.
The rupee traded within a very narrow range of 70 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 161.90 and an intraday Low offer of 161.30.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 161.40/162.80 per USD.
According to data gathered by Mettis Global, the local unit has depreciated by 2.69% or PKR 4.35 in the fiscal year-to-date against USD. Similarly, the rupee has weakened by 1.28% or PKR 2.06 in CY21 with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 2.69%.
Meanwhile, the currency lost 2.4 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 224.74 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 222.3 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 1.4 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 191.39 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 7.20/7.40 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 7.10/7.20 percent.
