KARACHI: Amid the political uncertainty in the country due to PTI’s landslide triumph in make-or-break Punjab by-elections, the Pakistani rupee nosedive continued and dropped to a record low. As Pakistani Rupee depreciates for fourth consecutive day.
The Pakistani rupee further depreciated on Thursday as the US dollar rose above Rs229.98 in the inter-bank market, setting a new record.
As economic challenges for the country increased, the dollar’s meteoric rise continued as commercial banks reportedly resumed lines of credit for oil imports at high costs.
According to details, the greenback was being traded around Rs229 in interbank after appreciating by Rs3.08 compared to previous close of Rs224.92 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in open market, the dollar gained Rs3 and was being traded around Rs229.5
A day earlier, the dollar also gained RS2.93 and appreciated by about 1.30% against the local currency.
Finance Minister has said that dollar has appreciated against other currencies of the world as well; he however said the recent dip of rupee against dollar was due to the political situation in the country.
He said the situation will move towards normalization after improvement in political situation in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Explaining the factors behind the significant depreciation of the rupee, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has stated that the current account situation, under the dynamic market-based exchange rate system, corresponds to news of internal uncertainty.
This combination has led to fluctuations in the value of the rupee on a daily basis.
The central bank furthered that the dollar’s appreciation is also a result of an aggressive interest rate policy adopted by the United States Federal Reserve to control internal inflation.
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