July 30, 2021 (MLN): After witnessing the stable ground yesterday, Pakistani rupee (PKR) on Friday ended the trade at 162.43 per USD, its highest close since October 16, 2020 and 54 paisa lower than the last session's closing of PKR 161.89 per USD.
According to Asad Rizvi, the former Country Treasurer of Chase Manhattan Bank, the depreciation in home currency has occurred due to escalated import bill and decline in foreign exchange reserves.
The rupee traded within a very narrow range of 70 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 162.55 and an intraday Low offer of 161.90.
During the week, the currency has lost 11 paisa against the greenback, as the previous week was concluded at PKR 162.32 per USD.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 162/163 per USD.
The local unit has depreciated by 3% or PKR 4.9 in the fiscal year-to-date against USD. Similarly, the rupee has weakened by 1.6 or PKR 2.6 in CY21 with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 3%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.
Meanwhile, the currency lost 1 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 227.01 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 226 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 1.1 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 193.29 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an Open Market Operation in which it injected Rs.1.9 trillion for 7 days at 7.08 percent.
The overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 7.15/7.30 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 7.07/7.10 percent.
