The rupee falls to the dollar by about
Rs. 240/- at the interbank closure.
At the close of the interbank foreign exchange market on
Thursday, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) fell close to Rs. 240/- versus the US Dollar.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the exchange rate
closed the day at Rs. 239.94/- to the dollar, down Rs. 3.92/- from the previous day's
closing of Rs. 236.02/-.
In recent days, the rupee has been steadily losing value
versus the dollar as a result of political unrest and subpar economic
statistics.
Currency merchants claimed that the rupee's value was
continuously falling due to external payment pressure.
According to the dealers, the ongoing slide in the value of
the rupee may possibly be related to a decrease in foreign exchange reserves.
The country's foreign exchange reserves have further
decreased.
By the week ending July 15, 2022, Pakistan's foreign
exchange reserves have decreased by $368 million to $15.242 billion. Prior to
one week, on July 7, 2022, the country had $15.61 billion in foreign exchange
reserves.
On August 27, 2021, the country's foreign exchange reserves
reached an all-time high of $27.228 billion. The foreign exchange reserves have
decreased by $11.986 billion since that time.
The State Bank's official reserves also decreased by $388
billion from $9.717 billion a week earlier to $9.329 billion by the week ending
July 15, 2022.
By the week ending August 27, 2021, the central bank's
foreign exchange reserves had reached a new high of $20.146 billion. The SBP's
official reserves have decreased by $10.817 billion since that time.
On July 7, 2022, the SBP announced raising the policy rate
by 125 basis points to 15%. To reduce demand and preserve the value of the
rupee, the interest rate was raised. The SBP tried to support the rupee value,
but it was unsuccessful.
