January 27, 2023 (MLN): So far in today's interbank session, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) depreciated by 8.57 rupees [11:35 PST] as the trades are being reported at PKR 264 per USD.
The dollar was being quoted at 260.07/262.07 while in the open market, the dollar is being traded at 263/265 per USD.
Within two days, the rupee lost its ground by over 33.07 rupees.
Sana Tawfik, Analyst at Arif Habib Limited said, "The SBP had allowed this depreciation of the currency in order to make imports expensive and incentivize exports. As a consequence of continuous PKR depreciation and controls imposed by the Central Bank on imports, the current account deficit came down significantly in 1HFY23, marking a 60% decline.
However, by letting the market determine the exchange rate, pressure on the currency may mount given low reserve levels, she added.
To note, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped by $922.8 million to $3.68 billion during the week ended on January 20, 2022, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday.
