The economic crisis caused the Pakistani rupee to lose 56 paisas to Rs225.50 for the eleventh consecutive day against the US dollar on Monday during interbank trading, despite the inflow of funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The value of the rupee lost 23 paisas against the greenback on Friday, closing the week at Rs224.94 from Thursday’s traded value of Rs224.71 in the interbank market. Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining control over the US currency, despite the widening gap between the open market and interbank trading.

With a gap of Rs10 between both the markets, the rate of a US dollar to a Pakistani rupee remained stagnant at Rs234 in the open market. However, the business community said that there were hardly any currency available at the official exchange rate. Instead, US dollars were being sold in the black market for as high as Rs255. It is pertinent to note that this is the lowest level of SBP-held reserves since January 2019.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP