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KARACHI: The US dollar continued its rising streak against the rupee as the greenback reached an all-time high of Rs200 in the open market.
The dollar surged past Rs197 in interbank trading largely on account of rising imports and depleting foreign reserves. Forex dealers said that US dollar gained Rs2 in the intraday trading in the open market to trade at over Rs200.
According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the greenback gained Rs1.68 in the interbank market from the previous day’s close of Rs196.50 and climbed to Rs197.66 around 11:26 AM.
When the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government took over on April 11, the dollar was valued at Rs182.3. Since then, the rupee has lost Rs11.4 or 6.2 percent of its value.
The dollar’s persistent rise against the rupee began last week when the currency hit a record high of Rs188.66. It soared to Rs190.90 on Wednesday, Rs192 on Thursday, Rs193.10 on Friday, climbed over Rs194 on Monday and surged past Rs196 yesterday (Tuesday).
The reason for the dollar’s surge has been the continuous high demand. The government is reluctant on the reversal of fuel and electricity subsidies, a prerequisite for the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme.
The decline in the rupee is also fuelled by an uncontrolled increase in imports coupled with a relatively slower pace of growth in exports. The decline in the rupee is fuelled by an uncontrolled increase in imports and relatively slower pace of exports.
The rising oil prices have already doubled the oil import bills, but the overall imports are also at a record high. Foreign exchange reserves of the central bank have touched $10.3 billion, the lowest since June 2020.
