Rupee falls 18 paisas on international oil prices hike

KARACHI: The rupee fell by 18 paisas against the dollar on Thursday, on the surge of dollar demand after the international oil prices recorded a hike.

The exchange rate ended at Rs176.92 to the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs176.74 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency dealers said that the dollar demand shot up due to the rise in the international oil prices.

Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products. The oil import bill of the country recorded a 112 per cent increase to reach $8.38 billion during the first five months (July–November) of 2021/2022, compared with $3.95 billion during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

The rupee made a sharp recovery of Rs1.73 during the last two days of the year 2021 to close at Rs176.51. The local currency recorded an all-time low of Rs178.24 to the dollar on December 29, 2021.

The market was optimistic about the rupee’s stability in the coming days due to the import restrictions introduced through the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021, dealers said.

The rupee gained recovery due to an ease in the import bill as it reached $6.9 billion in December 2021, compared with $7.9 billion in November 2021.

In the open market, buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs178.30/Rs179.40 at 3:35pm PST.

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