KARACHI: Pakistani rupee showed strength against the US dollar on Tuesday and recovered 5 paisa (+0.03 percent).
The State Bank of Pakistan said that the dollar opened at Rs176.68 in the interbank market and closed at Rs176.63. The rupee witnessed a range of 25 paisas during the session, showing the intraday high bid of 176.80 and low offer of 176.55. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 178.50/179.50 per dollar.
The dollar suffered globally as the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield erased its daily gains after failing to break above 1.8 percent on Monday. Resultantly , the US Dollar Index lost its traction in the second half of the day and the same trend continued in Asian markets on Tuesday.
Overall Pakistan rupee has gained 4 paisas against the US dollar during this week, while it depreciated by 12 paisas during the current year 2022. The local unit has depreciated by Rs19.20 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22.
According to currency experts, the approval of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue strengthened the local unit as the step will pave the way for the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. They were of the view that the US dollar may face a further depreciation in the coming days if all goes well with regards to the IMF programme revival. They said the greenback is overvalued against the local currency.
They said the local unit has been maintaining its level below the 177 mark against the US dollar for some days as the banks received inflows in the shape of export receipts and workers’ remittances. They warned that rising commodity prices in the international market threaten the rupee’s stability, as Pakistan’s import bill may increase and that will put pressure on the rupee.
