PKR slumps to record low against US dollar

Karachi: The Pakistani rupee remained under pressure and slumped to a new record low against the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday, extending losses for the fourth consecutive session,

According to the data extracted from the forex dealers, the greenback surpassed its previous best of Rs298.93 on May 11 against the local currency and it seemed it will top the psychological barrier of Rs300 soon.

The Pakistani rupee lost 74 paisas in the morning session and was currently being traded at Rs299.75.

Furthermore, when compared to the US dollar on Tuesday, the Pakistani rupee hit a new record low, closing the day at Rs299.01.

Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today https://t.co/1cJoc3lhhc#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/ZcZsX3y3Ba

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 22, 2023

Money traders opined that the demand was much higher than the supply of dollars. It’s driving the rate to historic low, they added.

There were also rumours that some banks were earning money by lending dollars to importers, and that some importers, who had 50 to 100 backlogs on containers, were paying banks up to Rs500,000 per container to obtain dollars and release their containers.

According to bankers, clearing the backlog might cost up to $5 billion, and the cost of imports in the upcoming months would reflect this. The import cost increased by $1.042 billion from $3.177 billion in June to $4.219 billion in July.