AIRLINK 61.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.65 (-1.04%)
BOP 5.35 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.42 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-3.07%)
DFML 15.38 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.16%)
DGKC 65.05 Decreased By ▼ -1.23 (-1.86%)
FCCL 17.60 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.57%)
FFBL 27.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.37 (-1.33%)
FFL 9.37 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.97%)
GGL 9.99 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.89%)
HBL 104.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.35 (-1.28%)
HUBC 121.27 Decreased By ▼ -1.20 (-0.98%)
HUMNL 6.60 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
KEL 4.41 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.56%)
KOSM 4.45 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.45%)
MLCF 35.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-1.61%)
OGDC 121.35 Decreased By ▼ -1.46 (-1.19%)
PAEL 22.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.57 (-2.48%)
PIAA 31.54 Increased By ▲ 2.20 (7.5%)
PIBTL 5.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-2.06%)
PPL 106.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.87 (-0.81%)
PRL 27.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.22%)
PTC 18.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.87%)
SEARL 52.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.78 (-1.47%)
SNGP 62.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-0.84%)
SSGC 10.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-3.15%)
TELE 9.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-2.58%)
TPLP 11.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.14%)
TRG 68.98 Decreased By ▼ -2.21 (-3.1%)
UNITY 23.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-1.01%)
WTL 1.27 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.78%)
BR100 6,927 Decreased By -16.4 (-0.24%)
BR30 22,575 Decreased By -252.1 (-1.1%)
KSE100 67,005 Decreased By -137 (-0.2%)
KSE30 22,050 Decreased By -40.2 (-0.18%)

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Thursday has urged the State Bank of Pakistan to control the rapid surge in dollar price.

“Inter-bank US dollar rate is ringing alarming bells and calling for immediate attention of the State Bank of Pakistan to avoid economic crisis. Rupee devaluation would be the last straw on the back of camel”, LCCI president Mian Nauman Kabir said in a statement.

He said that the dollar is crushing Pak rupee that will reignite high inflation and halt growth by hitting all the important sectors of economy which are already feeling the heat of political unrest in the country.

“US dollar price against rupee was Rs 4.76 in 60s, Rs 59.30 in 2005 and reached the highest level during the current financial year. Soaring dollar price led to trade deficit, import costs, hike in POL prices etc”, Kabir said.

He said that the recent surge in the prices of the greenback would jack-up the input cost that would hit the export-oriented industries hard.

The LCCI president said the State Bank of Pakistan needs to ascertain the factors weakening the value of rupee and check the possibilities of undue speculations and malpractices in the operation of foreign exchange markets in Pakistan. This will help stabilise rupee and restore the confidence of the business community.

He said that an unchecked increase in the dollar rates is multiplying the cost of doing business and badly affecting the industrial, manufacturing and agriculture sectors as Pakistan has to import fertilizers, food items, oil, machinery and industrial raw material.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that the government should take immediate measures to arrest further devaluation of rupee to avoid more damaging consequences for the economy. He said though the weaker rupee benefits the exporters by giving them more rupees per dollar, but this benefit is neutralised by the costly imported inputs of manufacturing sector including textiles thus eroding the financial advantage of a weaker rupee.

He said that the economy was already under tremendous pressure owing to multiple internal and external challenges it has been facing for the last many years.

He said that the government observed a little restraint; the economic situation would have been quite encouraging. He said that today all sectors of economy are in trouble and a further fall in value of rupee will cause more contraction in economic activities leading to a drastic cut in the tax revenue for government.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that if the greenback continues its upward flight, it will certainly inflate import bill besides lowering the competitiveness of Pakistan’s business and industry. Therefore, the government should get quickly into action to arrest this dangerous trend.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Comments

Comments are closed.