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KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Friday hit all-time low against the US dollar, depreciating 1.89% to close at Rs276.58 in the interbank market.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the currency settled at 276.58, a decline of Rs5.22 or 1.89% against the US dollar. The currency has depreciated by 25.93% during the ongoing fiscal year against the greenback.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/22WDdOJ0oq pic.twitter.com/tgYeO2B6hC
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) February 3, 2023
Friday’s closing is the weakest level for the rupee and comes as talks between the IMF and Pakistan continued in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the IMF was giving Pakistan a hard time over unlocking a $1-billion loan at a time when the country’s economic situation is “unimaginable”.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s rupee had remained under pressure, as it had settled at 271.36, a decline of Rs2.53 or 0.93% against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped a massive $592 million to a mere $3.09 billion, data released on Thursday showed. This is the lowest level of central bank reserves since February 2014.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $8.74 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.65 billion.
“During the week ended on January 27, 2023, SBP’s reserves decreased by $592 million to $3,086.2 million due to external debt repayments,” the SBP said in a statement.
