KARACHI: The US dollar hit record heights against the rupee in the open-market, reaching the 331 level during trading on Friday.
On Friday, the rupee was being quoted at 331 for selling and 328 for buying purposes for customers in the open-market, up by Rs5 from Thursday’s levels of 326 and 323.
Meanwhile, the rupee finally ended its 10-session depreciation run against the US dollar in the interbank market with marginal gains to settle at 305.47 on Friday.
At close, the rupee was up Rs0.07 or 0.02%, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The currency dealer said the government needs to increase the dollar supply to address this issue.
The currency has come under renewed pressure against the US dollar, after the government lifted import restrictions, a key condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), leading to pressure.
Moreover, analysts have said that the IMF condition to maintain a currency gap of around 1.25% between the inter-bank and open-market is driving up rates in the latter.
The condition is being exploited by the speculators in the market, said experts.
The gap between rates in the inter-bank and open markets is required to be less than 1.25% under one of the structural benchmarks set by the Washington-based lender.
