Rupee snaps seven-day winning streak, slips 0.02% against US dollar

• Rupee settles at Rs174.50 against US dollar in interbank market.
• Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 10.76% since July 1, 2021.
• Analyst says dollar is still overvalued against the Pakistani currency by at least Rs10. 

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee snapped its seven-day winning streak to settle 0.02% lower at Rs174.50 against the US dollar in the interbank market on Tuesday.

With the fresh decrease of 0.02%, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 10.76% (or Rs16.96) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

The rupee had maintained the downward trend for the past nine months. It has lost 14.59% (or Rs22.23) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.

Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) General Secretary Zafar Paracha said: “The positive development on the IMF front had boosted the positivity in favour of the rupee.”

He mentioned that a delay in resumption of the IMF programme for the country had put a pressure on the local currency against the dollar when it shed value but its resumption added strength in the value of the Pakistani currency.

Paracha pointed out that high imports of the country in last several month was putting immense pressure on the rupee, which resulted on its depreciation against the greenback.

About the future outlook of dollar-rupee parity, Paracha had hoped that the local unit would show resilience against the dollar in the ongoing week as positive sentiments were strong to the local currency, which would boost its strength against the foreign currency.

He was of the opinion that the dollar was still overvalued against the Pakistani currency by at least Rs10. 

In view of the economic indicators and positive sentiment in favour of the rupee, the dollar-rupee parity should be between Rs.160 to Rs.165, he believed.