Rupee recovers 11 paisas against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee recovered 11 paisas against the dollar on Monday owing to an ease in the global oil prices.

The exchange rate ended at Rs175.75 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs175.86 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dealers said that the reports of possible diplomatic talks on Russia-Ukraine tensions had brought down the oil prices in the international markets.

Pakistan is one of the major importers of petroleum products to meet the local demand.

The oil bill of the country surged 107 per cent to $11.7 billion during the first seven months (July–January) of the current fiscal year, as compared with $5.64 billion during the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

The dealers said that the clearance of the dollar is closed because of a public holiday in the US on the account of Washington Day. The trading in the interbank has been made for advance payments, they added.

They said that the depletion in the foreign exchange reserves remained a challenge for rupee stability.

The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country slipped by $231 million to $23.49 billion by the week ended February 11, 2022, as compared with $23.721 billion a week ago. Similarly, the official reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $241 million to $17.096 billion by the week ended February 11, 2022, as compared with $17.337 billion a week ago.

The rupee remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The local unit recorded a decline of Rs18.21 of 11.60 per cent from Rs157.54 on June 30, 2021 to the present level of Rs175.75.

The local currency fell to the record low at Rs178.24 against the dollar on December 29, 2021.

At the open market, the buying and selling was recorded at Rs176.3 and Rs177.8.