The Pakistani rupee fell 2nd day in a row against the US Dollar during intraday trade today after opening trade at 287 in the interbank market.

At 12 PM, it was bearish, falling as low as 289 after losing ~Rs. 1 against the greenback.

Later, it dropped to the 288 level between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM and stayed at that level.

Open market rates (documented) across multiple currency counters rose to the 294-296 range.

At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.31 percent to close at 288.49 after losing 90 paisas against the dollar today.

The informal exchange rate initially docked at 298-302.

Today’s cash rate per dollar in Hundi clocked in at the 300-305 band while many channels (undocumented) reported rates as high as 307.

The PKR slid ahead of Independence Day, with traders citing political uncertainty and economic constraints hampering the exchange rate.

Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 66 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 116 against the greenback. As per the exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost 90 paisas against the dollar today.

In a key development, the foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank declined for the third straight week, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

Reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $8.043 billion, down $110 million compared to $8.153 billion on July 27

According to Arif Habib Limited, the successive declines means that the country’s import cover is once again down to less than two months (1.88 months to be precise).

The PKR was red against some of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained seven paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) and 23 paisas against the British Pound (GBP).

Conversely, it lost 20 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), 23 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), 24 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED), and 55 paisas against the Euro (EUR) in today’s interbank currency market.

Source: Pro Pakistani