Rupee recovers 29 paisas against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee recovered 29 paisas against the dollar on Monday after a deposit of $3 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by Saudi Development Fund (SDF), dealers said.

The exchange rate ended at Rs176.48 against the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs176.77, which was a historic low of the local unit, in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dealers said at the opening of the market the local currency recovered Rs1.07 against the dollar. However, the demand for import payments escalated the demand for the greenback.

Last Saturday, Pakistan received $3 billion from Saudi Arabia under a support package, Shaukat Tarin, adviser to the prime minister on finance and revenue, said in a tweet.

The dealer said the market was anticipating significant recovery in the rupee value. Since the market opened after two weekly holidays, the dollar demand remained high, they added.

According to the official data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released a day ago, the import bill of the country surged 69.17 per cent to $33 billion during the first five months (July-November) 2021/22, compared with $19.47 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

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

The rupee remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The local currency fell Rs18.94, or 12.02 per cent, from June 30, 2021 closing of Rs157.54 to the closing of Rs176.48 on December 6, 2021.

In the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar has been recorded at Rs177.50/Rs178.75 at the time of the filing of this report.

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