KARACHI: Pakistani rupee on Thursday registered a loss for the eighth successive session against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02 percent in the interbank market.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 226.41 after a fall of Rs0.04 against the greenback. The rupee has depreciated over 22.1% against the US dollar during the ongoing calendar year.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/GGPRyFENad pic.twitter.com/nJ3OvW7A7G
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) December 29, 2022
On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated against the US dollar for the seventh straight session to settle at 226.37 after a decline of Rs0.22 or 0.1%.
A growing disparity between interbank and open market currency rates has alarmed economists, who blame it on ongoing political unrest as well as unrestricted dollar smuggling to Afghanistan.
Earlier, Dr. Hafeez Pasha, a former finance minister, encouraged the government to reassess the trade agreement with Afghanistan since the rupee was being used to buy dollars. He also underlined the need to restart the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program as soon as possible.
Internationally, the dollar stabilized on Thursday after rising overnight on the back of rising long-end U.S. Treasury yields as initial excitement about China’s reopening faded.
