PKR sheds two paisa in interbank market

December 28, 2021 (MLN): Pakistani rupee (PKR) managed to close today's trading session at 178.19 per USD, weakened by only two paisa compared to the previous day’s close of PKR.

The rupee endured a dull trading session with very little intraday movement, trading in a range of 10 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 178.25 and an intraday low offer of 178.10.

It has been observed that measures being taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are facilitating local currency to hold its stabilization mode.

“PKR rout may have halted around 178.25, but demand for dollar persists,” Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at Chase Manhattan said.  

Since last two weeks, sellers are choosy to offer dollar to banks. During this period oil prices surged by $8 per barrel, if it stays higher, it can cause huge trade imbalance which in turn encourage the ugly head of inflation to rise, he added.

The domestic unit has dipped by 11.59% or PKR 20.64 in the fiscal year-to-date against the USD. Similarly, the rupee has weakened by 10.30% or PKR 18.35 in CY21, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 1.39%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

As per the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), PKR gained 1.3 rupees for buying and 70 paisa for selling over the day closed at 180.80 and 181.20 respectively in the open market..

Meanwhile, the currency lost 42 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 239.38 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 238.96 per GBP.

On the other hand, PKR's value strengthened by 13 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 201.73 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 9.70/9.90 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 9.85/9.95 percent.

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