KARACHI: Pakistani rupee on Friday registered a loss for the fifth successive session against the US dollar as the local currency depreciated 0.01 percent in the interbank market.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 224.40 after a decrease of Rs0.03. The rupee has depreciated by 21.34% against the US dollar during the ongoing calendar year.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/dy8u7ABGdd pic.twitter.com/MIiqpZQqNk
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) December 9, 2022
On Thursday, the rupee had registered losses against the US dollar for the fourth successive session to settle at 224.37 after a decrease of Rs0.21 or 0.09%.
In a key development, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held foreign exchange reserves decreased by $784 million to $6.715 billion last week, showed latest data released on Thursday. The current level of the SBP’s reserves is the lowest since June 2019.
According to the SBP, this decline is on account of payment of $1,000 million against maturing Pakistan International Sukuk and some other external debt repayments.
Some of the debt repayments were offset by inflows, mainly $500 million received from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
In an internal podcast with the main spokesperson for the central bank, Abid Qamar, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmad also made an effort on Thursday to allay worries over the nation’s debt repayment responsibilities.
He emphasized that all pending obligations would be fulfilled on time and that in the second half of the current fiscal year, the situation of the foreign exchange reserves will improve.
