March 15, 2022 (MLN): While enduring a free fall, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) continued to hit its historic lows in a row against the US dollar as the currency closed today’s trade at PKR 179.22, sliding by 23 paisa.
On Monday, the local unit had depreciated by 47 paisa to settle at PKR 178.98.
The rupee traded in a range of 0.28 per USD showing an intraday high bid of 179.23 and an intraday low offer of 179.10. During the initial trading hours, the local unit sank to a lifetime low of 179.25 an against the US dollar as growing geopolitical risks due to the Russia-Ukraine war pushed investors to the greenback's safe-haven appeal.
Along with rising commodity prices, the deteriorating situation of the Russia- Ukraine conflict has become an unavoidable threat for inflation outlook as higher energy prices will have a material impact on the economy in general.
Likewise other Asian currencies, the looming threats have sent shockwaves to the interbank market which has kept the PKR’s stability in check while greenback demand remained elevated against weak currencies.
Not to forget, political upheaval on the domestic front has also created panic among traders in the market which is being reflected in Special Convertible Rupee Accounts (SCRA)’s outflow of $86 million.
From July’21 to date, the local unit has lost Rs21.67 against the USD. Similarly, the rupee fell by PKR2.7 in CY22, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 0.97%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.
On the other hand, the performance of PKR remained comparatively better against GBP and EUR as it appreciated by 1.42% and 0.96%, respectively during one month. However, during the same period, it has weakened by 2.52%, 2.52%, 2.20%, 1.38%, and 0.88% against SAR, AED, CNY, CHF, and JPY, respectively.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 179.50/180.50 per USD.
Meanwhile, the currency lost 9 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 233.64 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 233.56 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 98 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 197.23 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 Rs148.2 billion into the market for 3 days at 9.76 percent.
The overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 9.90/10.10 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 9.98/10.08 percent.
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