Rupee remains unchanged at interbank

KARACHI: The exchange rate ended unchanged on Thursday, as the dollar was being traded at Rs176.98, which was the previous day’s closing at the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said.

The market witnessed high dollar demand for import and corporate payments; however, the banks provided sufficient dollars against the demand to keep the rupee value maintained at the previous level, they added.

The local currency during the week remain under pressure amid surging global crude oil prices resulting in the rising import bill along with declining forex reserves of the country.

The official reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recorded a decline of $562 million to $17.036 billion by the week ended January 14, 2022, as compared with $17.598 billion during the week ended January 7, 2022.

The central bank attributed the decline in foreign exchange reserves to the external debt and other payments.

The SBP in order to support the local currency, took measures regarding restrictions on realising export receipts.

The central bank on January 5, 2022 directed the exporters to materialise their export receipts within 120 days instead of the previous 150 days.

The rising oil prices may weaken the rupee value in the coming days, as Pakistan is the net importer of petroleum products to meet domestic energy demands.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year due to higher external payments. The rupee fell Rs19.44, or 12.33 per cent, from Rs157.54 to the dollar on June 30, 2021 to Rs176.98 on January 27, 2022.

The rupee hit an all-time low of Rs178.24 on December 29, 2021.

In the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs177.5/Rs179 at 4:00pm PST.

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