Rupee continues to fall, settles at 223.17 against US dollar

Pakistan’s rupee maintained its downward trend against the US dollar, falling 0.22% in the inter-bank market on Friday.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 223.17 after a decline of Re0.50. In the last six trading sessions, the currency has lost Rs1.75 or 0.78% against the greenback.

On Thursday, rupee had depreciated against the US dollar, to settle at 222.67 after a decline of Re0.26 or 0.12%.

In a key development, talks on ninth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Enhanced Fund Facility (EFF) have been further delayed as the Fund linked the arrival of its mission to Islamabad with the finalisation of macroeconomic framework with necessary adjustments.

An official, on condition of anonymity, said that the date has not yet been finalised as the Fund wants to first finalise the macroeconomic framework and then it would send the mission to Pakistan.

The development is expected to irk market sentiments, after Pakistan's perceived risk of default, measured by the 5-year credit default swap (CDS), hit 75.5% just days ago, owing to uncertainty over the IMF ninth review.

Internationally, the dollar was headed for its best week in a month on Friday, as hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials and stronger-than-expected retail sales data have put the brakes on a pullback that was triggered by signs of softening inflation.

The US dollar index is up about 0.1% so far this week to 106.53, stabilising after a small miss on US inflation last week triggered one of the dollar’s sharpest weekly drops in the free-floating exchange rate era on excitement about an end to rate hikes.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, fell on Thursday as geopolitical tensions eased slightly and rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in China added to worries over demand in the world's largest crude importer.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 223.25

OFFER Rs 224.25

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 50 paisas for buying and 45 paisas for selling against USD, closing at 227.75 and 229.95, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 242.50 and 244.50 respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 10 paisas for buying while remaining unchanged for selling, closing at 64.90 and 65.40, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 10 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 62.80 and 63.30, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 227.75

OFFER Rs 229.95