The US dollar seemed to remain persistent in its upward swing leaving Pakistani rupee pressured under its vigour as the greenback has appreciated by a massive Rs3.58 in the interbank trading. Sharing the money market data, the forex dealers informed that the US currency moved up and was being traded at Rs229 by 11am on Friday in the interbank business, up by Rs3.58 as compared to Thursday’s close of Rs225.42.  Though the country’s foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $8 billion with the disbursement of $1.16 billion from the IMF, the local unit still continues to slide. The rupee is under pressure because of numerous factors including shortage of dollars in market due to the UAE law for Pakistani travelers asking them to carry 5,000 UAE dirhams, government expenditure on the import of material/products in the wake of large-scale destruction wreaked by the recent floods, and on top of that the forthcoming debt servicing worth billions of rupees. Besides these, the US dollar was rallying all across the world. However, the USD dominance took a breather and on Friday as the Euro gained on the outsized rate hike from the European Central Bank.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP