US Dollar takes massive stride against Pakistani Rupee

• The latest spike comes amid mounting concerns over the spread of coronavirus cases in the country, which has lead to lockdowns at the provincial level that has brought economic activity to a standstill.
• In the open market, the dollar was raised by Rs3.50 and reached Rs161.50 against the Pakistani Rupee.

The Pakistani rupee took a drubbing at the hands of the US Dollar after USD rose to Rs162 after a rise of three Pakistani rupees at the interbank on Wednesday.

The latest spike comes amid mounting concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus cases in the country, which has lead to lockdowns at the provincial level that has brought economic activity to a standstill.

At the Interbank, the dollar was being traded at Rs162, while in the open market the dollar was raised by Rs3.50 and reached Rs161.50 against the Pakistani Rupee.

The drop in value comes just a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a one-trillion-rupee ($6.308bn) stimulus package for the industry, businesses, and labor, to protect them from the adverse impact of coronavirus.

As per details, the jump is being attributed to the State Bank’s decision to slash interest rate by another 100 basis points, bringing it down to 11 percent. Last week, the central bank of Pakistan cut the interest rate from 13.25pc to 12.5pc but was compelled to slash it further to 11pc following a surge in coronavirus cases.

In March (till the 20th) alone, foreigners have taken $1.4 billion worth of investment out of Pakistan, which is more than 60% of the total amount of dollars foreigners have invested in short-term government securities since July 2019.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its stay in the bear territory after the benchmark KSE-100 Index lost 1,336.03 points or a percentage drop of 4.68pc to close at 27,228.80 points on Wednesday.