KARACHI: The free-fall in the rupee value continued on Thursday, as the dollar hit Rs174 in intraday trading in the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said.

The exchange rate recorded a decline of 49 paisas in the rupee value to close at Rs173.96 against the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs173.47 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dealers said the recent statement of the governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) further deteriorated the rupee value and the greenback hit the level of Rs174 during the intraday trade.

The SBP governor in a press conference abroad highlighted the benefit of the rupee depreciation. He said, besides adversaries of the rupee depreciation, the overseas Pakistanis sending money to the homeland were major beneficiaries of the rupee fall.

The currency dealers said the massive widening of the current account deficit also had a negative impact on the rupee/dollar parity.

The current account deficit ballooned to $3.4 billion during July–September 2021, compared with a surplus of $865 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the SBP said.

The import bill shows a 66.11 per cent growth to $18.74 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.

Higher import bill also widened the trade deficit by 102 per cent. The trade deficit swelled to $11.75 billion during July–September 2021, compared with the deficit of $5.81 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.

The rupee is facing a continuous fall since the start of the current fiscal year. The local currency recorded a depreciation of Rs16.43, or 10.43 per cent, against the dollar, compared with the value of Rs157.54 against the dollar on June 30, 2021 with Rs173.96 as of October 20, 2021.