Rupee closes week at Rs178.13 against US dollar

By
Business Desk

December 24, 2021

— AFP/File
— AFP/File

  • The local currency settles at Rs178.13 against the greenback compared to its last close of Rs178.12.
  • Rupee has depreciated by 13.07% since July 1, 2021.
  • SBP foreign exchange reserves decrease by 2.23% on a weekly basis.

KARACHI: In line with the prevailing trend during the week, the Pakistani currency shed 0.01% against the US dollar on the last trading day of the week.

The local currency settled at Rs178.13 against the greenback compared to its last close of Rs178.12 against the US currency a day earlier.

The rupee has maintained the downtrend for the past seven months. It has lost 16.98% (or Rs25.86) to date, compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded on May 14.

With a fresh increase of 0.01%, the rupee has depreciated by 13.07% (or Rs20.59) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

A currency dealer had said: “We expect the rupee to continue to follow a range-bound trading pattern with a slight depreciation next week.”

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The rupee had been under pressure on the back of the rising trade deficit amid higher imports. However, the central bank’s recent measures such as its forward guidance to signal to the markets that it would hold the interest rates in the near-term, a big liquidity injection into the money market and tightening of the rules related to buying of the foreign currency from exchange companies kept the rupee stable.

However, sentiment on the rupee remained bearish during the week as traders were worried about persistent fall in the country’s foreign exchange reserves caused by increasing imports and foreign debt servicing.

It is pertinent to mention here that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves decreased by 2.23% on a weekly basis, data released by the central bank showed on Thursday.

On December 17, the foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $18,153.7 million, down by $415 million compared with $18,568.3 million on December 10.