Rupee loses 29 paisas against dollar at interbank

KARACHI: The rupee declined by 29 paisas against the dollar midday at the interbank foreign exchange market on Monday.

The dollar is being traded at Rs178 from last Friday’s closing of Rs177.71 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

Read more: Rupee recovers 21 paisas against dollar at interbank opening

Last Friday’s closing at Rs177.71 was the highest level of the dollar against the rupee.

Currency dealers said that the large import bill was keeping the rupee under pressure, as it declined in midday trading after gaining some value against the greenback at the opening of the interbank market.

The rising import bill of the country is widening the trade deficit, resulting in the depreciation of the local currency. Pakistan received the $3 billion deposit from Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to manage the balance of payments position but it has not done much to support the local currency very much.

According to the official data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the import bill of the country surged by 69.17 per cent to $33 billion during the first five months (July- November) 2021/2022 as compared with $19.47 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

Read more: US Dollar Slightly increases against Pakistan Rupee on December 10, 2021

The large imports also widened the trade deficit sharply. The trade deficit during the months under review widened by 112 per cent to $20.59 billion as compared with the deficit of $9.72 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.