KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee recovered 73 paisas against the dollar on Thursday at the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said.

The exchange rate was recorded at Rs177.51 at the closing of the interbank market, compared with the record high of Rs178.24 on Wednesday.

The free-fall in the rupee was curtailed after the central bank recently took measures to control the depreciation in the local currency by imposing curbs on the foreign exchange buying by individuals from the open market.

The SBP on December 19, 2021 imposed restrictions on the foreign exchange buying to discourage speculative gains. As per the restrictions, an individual can buy a maximum of $10,000/day and $100,000 in a year.

The foreign currency during Thursday’s session touched the session high of Rs178.35, as the demand for the dollar remained high due to the year-end foreign exchange requirements for import and corporate payments.

The dealers said the widening of trade and current account deficits are also major threats to the rupee stability.

Pakistan’s current account deficit has ballooned to $7 billion during the first five months (July-November) 2021/22. The current account posted a surplus of $1.87 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

The trade deficit widened 112 per cent to $20.65 billion during the period under review, compared with the deficit of $9.72 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Meanwhile, in the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs179/Rs180.3 at 4:00pm PST.

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