PKR stays flat at 178.63/USD

March 09, 2022 (MLN): The sliding Pakistani rupee (PKR) managed to hold its ground against the greenback as the currency closed today’s trading session relatively unchanged at PKR 178.63.

The rupee traded within a very narrow range of 10 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 178.65 and an intraday low offer of 178.55.

Though PKR witnessed a stable trading session the currency is still enduring the pressure of dwindling current account balance owing to the huge import bill.

“Monetary Policy Statement says that overall economy is fine, as imports fell and exports rose. It is also of the view that the current account deficit is manageable but oil is one factor that concerns, Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at Chase Manhattan said.

However, after a sharp surge of Eurobond yields, Pakistan’s Central Depository System (CDS) skyrocketed from 542, which is worrisome, he added.

From July’21 to date, the local unit has lost Rs21.06 against the USD. Similarly, the rupee fell by PKR2.1 in CY22, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 0.65%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

Within the open market, PKR was traded at 178.50/179.50 per USD.

Meanwhile, the currency lost 72 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 234.54 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 233.82 per GBP.

Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 1.6 rupees against EUR which closed at PKR 195.55 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 9.85/10.00 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 10.00/10.10 percent.

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