ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) condition of ensuring a free-float of the dollar for the resumption of loan programme has caused a serious blow to the value of Pakistani rupee in just 10 days and the process of rupee depreciation appears unending.
On Friday, the dollar-rupee exchange rate surged to 237 rupees in the open market and 229 rupees in the inter-bank.
When the executive board of the IMF approved $1.16 billion for Pakistan under the seventh and eight reviews on Aug 29, the dollar-rupee parity was fluctuating around 210 rupees in the open market and 215 rupees in the inter-bank _ showing a gap of Rs5 between the inter-bank and open market rate of the greenback.
However, when the IMF handed over $1.16 billion to Pakistan on Aug 30, the US dollar again resumed its upward flight, dashing people’s hopes of seeing dollar around 195 rupees after the resumption of IMF programme.
Unfortunately, the dollar’s free-float condition of the IMF has changed the whole scenario, giving sweeping powers to the currency market manipulators to play with the rate of the US dollar and other currencies for their vested interests knowingly that neither the State Bank of Pakistan nor the government would be able to intervene to stabilise the value of rupee. These days the currency market’s manipulators are using different excuses to boost the value of the dollar while before the approval of the IMF loan, they were talking about the Rs195 rate of the dollar after the approval of the IMF programme.
Nonetheless, after IMF programme’s resumption, the US dollar has gained 27 rupees value in the open market trading and gained 14 rupees in the inter-bank till Friday noon (Sept 9).
The way the US dollar is gaining value in Pakistan almost every day, it appears that the dollar-rupee exchange rate would again hit 250 rupees level in the open market, paving the way for dollarisation in the country and adding to the miseries of the consumers in the form of further hike in food, fuel costs in the days ahead.
On Friday (Sept 9), the price of OPEC crude oil has dropped to $95 per barrel after hitting record high of $126/barrel two months ago, but the government is not in a position to give relief to consumers because of depreciation of rupee and commitment with the IMF to enhance petroleum levy gradually every month till the time the PDL hits Rs50 per liter.
