Islamabad: The Pakistani rupee has dropped to a record low against the US dollar with the exchange rate sliding to PKR 212, local media reported on Monday.
The Pakistani rupee witnessed a 1.05 decline at the opening of the inter-bank market, Geo News reported.
The political uncertainty in the country due to the by-elections in Punjab and the import payment pressure took the currency to its new low, Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company Head of Research Samiullah Tariq said. Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE-100) Index is in the red as the bears, who attempt to profit from a decline in stock prices, continue to dominate proceedings of the stock exchange.
KSE index lost nearly 550 points as of 11:34 am and was trading at 41,532.46 points, local media reported.
Owing to quarter-end payments and delay in the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the Pakistani rupee on June 21 breached 211-a-US dollar, losing PKR 2 during intra-day trading.
This fall in the rupee's value against the greenback came after traders resorted to panic buying on reports that some commercial banks had run out of foreign currency. "The market is looking for a direction, therefore, investors are anticipating what would be the way forward. Will the coalition government announce early elections or not?" Tariq said.
Meanwhile, Arif Habib Limited analyst Ahsan Mehnti is hopeful that the currency will recover soon as the IMF deal with the country will give it a "much-needed breather".
The IMF on Saturday said that Pakistan will receive USD 1.7 billion in tranches in the coming three to six weeks.
The IMF and Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement on Wednesday on the combined seventh and eighth reviews for a USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan facility. Pakistan hoped that this agreement would stabilise the country's economy and depreciate its currency. Meanwhile, IMF also hoped that it would bring down high inflation and end Pakistan's political instability.
Since the beginning of this fiscal year (July 1, 2021) to date, the rupee has collectively dropped over 30.65 per cent (or PKR 48.29) compared to the previous fiscal year's close at PKR 157.54.
The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the last 13 months. It has lost over 33.20 per cent (or PKR 50.56) to date, compared to the record high of PKR 152.27 recorded in May 2021, reported Geo News. —ANI