A first in six months: Pakistan rupee loses around 1%

Drop seen on worries that flow of dollars may slow down into Pakistan

KARACHI:  

The rupee depreciated around 1% to Rs155.85 against the US dollar in intra-day trade in the inter-bank market on Monday.

“This is the first-ever drop in the rupee in the past six months,” said Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Samiullah Tariq.

The drop is seen on worries that the flow of dollars may slow down into Pakistan on account of exports and workers' remittances.

The inflows may decrease due to likely drop in demand for Pakistani goods in the export markets.

Secondly, the worst slump in international oil prices – since the 1991 Gulf War – may slow down remittances. Majority of Pakistani workers are living in oil producing and exporting countries ie Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Oil prices crashed 30% on Monday following a disagreement between cartel of oil producing and exporting countries (Opec) and Russia on cutting production.

The global economy is set to face adverse implications due to the rapid spread of coronavirus around the world. The number of people infected with coronavirus topped 107,000 across the world as the outbreak reached more countries and caused more economic damage.