PKR weakens by 22 paisa against greenback

March 16, 2022 (MLN): Extending its losing momentum, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) lost a further 22 paisa against the US Dollar (USD) in today's interbank session as the currency closed the trade at PKR 179.44.

On Tuesday, the local unit had settled at PKR 179.22 per USD.

The rupee traded in a range of 30 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 179.51 and an intraday low offer of 179.30. During the initial trading hours, the local unit sank to a lifetime low of 179.55 despite the significant drop in oil prices in the international market.

The political instability on the domestic front along with the conflict between Russia-Ukraine- a looming threat to the commodity supply, has badly hit the stability of PKR in the interbank. 

From July’21 to date, the local unit has lost Rs21.89 against the USD. Similarly, the rupee fell by PKR2.92 in CY22, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 1.10%, as per data compiled by Mettis Global.

During the last 52 weeks, PKR lost 15.14% against the greenback, reached its lowest at 179.43 today and touched its high of 152.27 on May 7, 2021.

Furthermore, the local unit has weakened by 8.77% since its high on March 31, 2021, against EUR.  While, it has dropped by 10.24% against GBP since its high on April 09, 2021.

Within the open market, PKR was traded at 179.50/180.50 per USD.

Meanwhile, the currency lost 34 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 233.99 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 233.64 per GBP.

On the other hand, PKR's value strengthened by 58 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 196.65 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 10.50/10.60 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 10.01/10.11 percent.

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