Rupee loses by 98 paise against dollar in interbank
The rupee, which had continued to rebound since July 29, reversed the trend on Wednesday, falling 98 paise against the dollar.
According to data by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 214.88 against the dollar, following a depreciation of 0.46 percent.
Komal Mansoor, head of the strategy at Tresmark, said the rupee had lost value today due to lower than anticipated remittances.
Most analysts still think the rupee will hover around 215 levels until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves the unblocking of the tranche to Pakistan, she said.
Data released Tuesday by the SBP showed that the upward trend in transfers of funds reversed in July when a decrease of 7.8pc was recorded in comparison with the same month of the previous fiscal year.
The country received $2.523 billion in July FY23, up from $2.736 billion in July FY22, according to the SBP. The country received more than $31 billion in remittances in the previous fiscal year, the highest ever.
At the same time, the chairman of the FAP, Malik Bostan, said that the rupee had declined because commercial banks were buying the greenback at higher rates. He urged the SBP to take action against banks who buy dollars at higher rates in order to avoid a negative impact on free market business activity.
He said that exporters were pressuring the government through a lobby to cap the exchange rate at its current level to prevent losses.
“Exporters start complaining about losses and blackmailing the government whenever the rupee goes up in value. If the government gives in to them, the further decline in the dollar will stop,” he said.
After two weeks of fighting the dollar, the rupee had dropped to its lowest level against the greenback on July 28, closing at Rs239.94. However, this trend was reversed, with the local currency increasing by Rs26.04, or 10.8pc, till August 16 (yesterday).
The biggest increase was observed on Aug 3, when the rupee appreciated by a record Rs9.59.