PKR slides to all time low, closes at 287.29 per USD

April 04, 2023 (MLN): Enduring a slippery slope against the greenback, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) hit the all-time lowest in the interbank market on Tuesday as the currency settled the trade at PKR 287.29 per USD, down by 2.3 rupees.

In the previous session, the local unit had closed at PKR 285.04 per USD.

Throughout today’s session, the local unit traded in a band of 4.2 rupees, showing an intraday high bid of 289 and a low offer of 285.3 per USD.

Within the open market, the domestic unit bled by 4 rupees to trade at PKR 291 per USD.

The significant drop in the value of the Pakistani rupee is attributed to an increase in pressure to make import payments, coupled with a limited supply of dollars.

According to market talks, the delay in the revival of the IMF loan program caused importers to panic and purchase dollars at higher prices, ultimately leading to a notable decline in the value of the rupee throughout the day.

News reports indicate that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will be leading an economic delegation to the US to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank from April 10, 2023, to April 16, 2023.

It is pertinent to note that since the arrival of Ishaq Dar as Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, PKR lost its value by 57.56 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the currency lost 6.2 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 357.33 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 351.16 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 4.5 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 313.43 at the interbank today.

In FYTD, PKR lost 82.44 rupees or 28.7%, while it plummeted by 60.86 rupees or 21.18% against the USD in CYTD. On the other hand, within the last seven sessions, the local unit moved down by 1.3%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 20.25%/20.5%, whereas the 1-week rate was 20.13%/20.23%.

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