26th successive fall: rupee depreciates against US dollar

Pakistan’s rupee continued to fall against the US dollar for the 26th straight session, and depreciated 0.21% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee declined by Re0.49 to close at 230.89. During the ongoing fiscal year, the rupee has depreciated 11.44% against the greenback.

On Tuesday, the rupee had registered a loss for the 25th consecutive session against the US dollar to settle at 230.40 after a decrease of Re0.25 or 0.11%.

In a key development, the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) announced removal of price cap on the exchange rate, a move aimed at ensuring availability of the greenback in the market.

ECAP President Malik Bostan hoped that after removal of the cap, dollars will be available and the black market will end.

“We have to fight against the black market and the only solution is we should sell the dollar at the market rate as soon as people start getting dollars,” the chairman ECAP said.

Globally, the dollar ticked up on Wednesday in subdued trading as investors looked towards the Federal Reserve’s policy decision next week, while the euro slipped from near a nine-month high.

The euro was down 0.12% against the dollar at $1.088, just off the $1.093 level reached on Friday, which was the highest since early May. Meanwhile, the dollar was up 0.1% against the yen, at 130.28 yen per dollar, having hit an 8-month low of 127.22 on Jan.

Against a basket of currencies, the US dollar index was up 0.11% to 102.02 on Wednesday.

Crude oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, inched higher on Wednesday as optimism for a demand recovery in China and expectations that major producers will maintain current output policy offset global recession worries.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID Rs 230.90

OFFER Rs 231.90

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 2.10 rupees for buying and 2.25 rupees for selling against USD, closing at 240.60 and 243, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 50 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 273 and 275.50 respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 30 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 70.30 and 70.80, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 40 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 67.50 and 68, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID Rs 240.60

OFFER Rs 243