Political uncertainty takes a toll: Pakistani rupee breaks all previous records against US dollar

Karachi: There is no pause for the Pakistani currency that falls when Rupee continues to decline against the US dollar, in the midst of ongoing political uncertainty and delay in economic decisions, especially the talks lingering with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The currency exceeded the RS183 sign for the first time in Pakistani history, spilling more than RS25 since the beginning of the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 Rupee closed at RS183.48 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. During March, Rupees have depreciated by 3.38% (or RS6.07) against the US currency.According to the Pakistani state bank (SBP), the local currency closed the session on Wednesday at RS182.64 in the inter-bank market.

Speaking to Geo.tv, Arif Habib Limited Head Research Tahir Abbas said that political uncertainty took victims in the currency “Political uncertainty takes victims in Pakistani financial markets,” he said, adding that pressure on foreign exchange reserves in the country was driven by dollar drying from government stocks and securities (such as T-Bills) had also played chaos with. Rupee value Pakistani Rupee has depreciated 16.46% (or RS25.94) since the beginning of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data issued by the Central Bank revealed.

Rupees have maintained a downward trend over the past 11 months. It has lost 20.49% (or RS31.21) until now, compared to the 22-month highs of RS152.27 recorded in May 2021 Other currency dealers also mention that political uncertainty has created a negative sentiment as a whole for the economy and this has had an impact on the value of the rupee against the greenback.

They also connected import payments as a factor that contributed to a decrease in rupees “Dollar demand is increasing because the payment of import, and this country spends more about imports because of the high price of energy and commodities in the global market,” they said Abbas noted that the currency is expected to lose value will facilitate political uncertainty. Analysts estimate that local units will trade in the range of RS180-185 at the end of this fiscal year.

Meanwhile, open market forex rates of other currencies against the Pakistani rupee are as follows: