KARACHI: Pakistani rupee plunged to all-time lowest level of 178.61 against the US dollar on Tuesday.
The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs178.13 in the interbank market and closed at Rs178.61 after shedding 48 paisas (-0.27 percent). Earlier, the rupee’s lowest level against the US dollar was 178.24, which was recorded on December 29, 2021.
The rupee witnessed a trading range of 65 paisas during the session, showing the intraday high bid of 178.65 and low offer of 178.10. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 178/179 per dollar against 177.50/178.50 per dollar a day earlier.
On the other hand, the US Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of its main competitors, extended the rally further by 0.33 percent to reach 99.24. The acute upside in the greenback remains well and sound for the fourth session in a row and reached levels last traded back in May 2020. The US dollar has continued to strengthen as global liquidity conditions deteriorate and energy prices have spiked again. A combination of elevated upside volatility in energy prices, equity underperformance and liquidity concerns continue to push investors seeking safety towards the greenback.
Overall, the rupee shed Rs1.11 against the American currency during the last two days, while the local unit devalued by 21.18 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 and Rs2.16 during the current year 2022.
According to experts, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has pushed commodity prices to their record historic high level. Given the rising commodity prices, the soaring import bill has badly hit the current account balance of Pakistan which created a spell of depreciation around the rupee. They said that higher dollar’s demand for oil payment may further deteriorate the rupee value.
They said that the deteriorating situation between Russia and Ukraine has badly hit the currency markets as well. They said that political uncertainty at the domestic front has also hurt local unity’s stability in the interbank.
