ISLAMABAD: The US dollar continued to bulldoze Pakistani rupee on Monday even after the rollover of $3 billion Saudi deposits with the State Bank of Pakistan for a year.
The Saudi assistance was supposed to give support to the rupee value, but the greenback disappointed Pakistani people and those who were expecting some relief in dollar’s rate from Monday (Sept 19).
On Monday, the dollar-rupee exchange rate edged up to Rs238.10 in the inter-bank as against previous working day (Friday’s) closing of Rs236.80. In the open market, the value of dollar was over and above 245 rupees on Monday.
The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) confirmed on Sunday evening the rollover of its $3 billion deposits for Pakistan. Now the State Bank of Pakistan can retain $3 billion of Saudi Arabia till Dec 5, 2023.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) made the announcement on Sunday (Sept 18) saying under the programme, the deposits are placed with the central bank, which will now be part of the $8.6 billion forex reserves of Pakistan.
“This reflects continuing strong and special relationship between the KSA and Pakistan,” the SBP wrote.
In November 2021, Pakistan signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia and received $3 billion cash deposits for one-year, to be returned on Dec 5, 2022. However, the Saudi Fund for Development has rolled over the deposits for one more year on the request of Pakistan government, the country will pay back this amount in Dec 2023.
During the last week, the country’s foreign exchange reserves with the central bank declined by 1.9% on a weekly basis. As of September 9, SBP’s foreign currency reserves were recorded at $8,624.0 million, down by $176 million compared with $8,799.9 million on September 2.
The Pakistani currency remained depressed during the whole week and lost its value in every trading session. It was mainly owing to growing payment pressure as well as a strengthening dollar in the global market against other currencies.
According to analysts, the floods have damaged the country’s economic outlook after devastating the agriculture sector, putting more pressure on the overall economic indicators of the country.
