KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan‘s (SBP) intervention helped the rupee to trim its losses against the US dollar on Thursday.
The local currency closed at Rs175.39 against the greenback, recording a gain of 0.16%.
Currency dealers said the rupee might show some stability as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) intervened in the market to ease pressure.
With the fresh increase of 0.16%, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 11.33% (or Rs17.85) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.
The rupee had maintained a downward trend for the past nine months. It has lost 15.18% (or Rs23.12) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.
According to a statement issued by the central bank, the central bank conducted a Open Market Operation, Reverse Repo Purchase (Injection) on February 17.
It is not for the first time that the central bank has pumped money into the inter-bank market to artificially defend the rupee.
Meanwhile dealers said that the dollar demand from importers was not high. Increase in dollar inflows from remittance exporters helped the rupee gain value.
“We expect the rupee will trade in a range-bound manner in coming days. There will be some fluctuation depending on import and debt payments. But the currency should largely stay stable.
It is pertinent to mention here that on December 29, 2021, the rupee had hit an all-time low of Rs178.24 against the greenback.
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