KARACHI: Pakistan rupee remained under pressure against the US dollar on Thursday and shed 9 more paisas (-0.05 percent) in the interbank.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar was opened at Rs163.92 and closed at Rs164.01. This is the lowest level of Pakistani rupee against the US dollar since October 06, 2020. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs163.80/164.50 per dollar.
Overall, Pakistani rupee shed Rs0.56 against the US dollar during the last four days, while depreciation during the fiscal year 2021-22 has been Rs6.65. The local unit has shed Rs3.82 against the US dollar in the current year 2021.
According to currency experts, the market witnessed higher demand for the foreign currency for import payments. Currency experts said that the value of the rupee eased against the dollar because of ease in coronavirus restrictions. They explained that ease in restrictions encourage importers to purchase dollars for new shipments.
They said that the rising import bill remains a concern for the stability of the exchange rate. The imports registered a growth of 48 percent to $5.43 billion in July 2021 as compared to $3.67 billion in the same month of the last year. Meanwhile, the trade deficit ballooned by 85.5 percent owing to high import bill.
