ISLAMABAD: Pakistani rupee shattered all previous records today and fell to a new low of 223 in the open market for the first time. In the inter-bank dollar was being traded around 222 rupees till the filing of this report at 1:35 Noon on July 19.
The local currency fell by Rs6.80 in the interbank market after yesterday’s close of Rs215.20. The rupee was trading in the open market at Rs222 against the dollar today.
Data released by State Bank of Pakistan yesterday showed that the rupee lost Rs4.25, or 1.97%, against the US dollar. It was the highest day-on-day depreciation after March 26, 2020.
On June 22, the rupee had closed at a record low of 211.93 against the greenback and since then the currency has remained volatile.
The ruling PML-N’s thumping in the Punjab by-elections has triggered political uncertainty along with import pressure taking the Pakistani rupee to new lows.
Analysts believe, however, that the domestic political and economic situation are not the only factors at play.
The country’s external account issues “are not settled as yet, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is yet to be on board, and the flows are yet to materialise”.
