Rupee value unchanged, remains at historic low

KARACHI: The rupee ended firmer against the dollar to remain at the historic low of Rs178.63 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dealers said that the exchange rate witnessed stability in rupee value owing to sharp reversal in the international oil prices.

The benchmark Brent crude slumped 13 per cent a day earlier in its biggest one-day drop in nearly two years.

The oil prices in the international market remained volatile since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Brent crude touched $140 per barrel during this period.

Pakistan is highly reliant on international oil import to meet domestic demand. The import bill of the petroleum group recorded an increase of 107 per cent to $11.7 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, compared with $5.64 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

The higher imports have resulted in widening of the current account deficit. The country’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) surged to its highest ever monthly deficit of $2.6 billion in January 2022 ($1.9 billion in December 2021) taking CAD of $11.6 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

The local currency remained under pressure since the start of the current fiscal year. The rupee lost Rs21.09 or 13.39 per cent from Rs157.54 to dollar on June 30, 2021 to the current level of Rs178.63.

At the open market, the buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs178.5 and Rs179.7 at 3:30pm PST.