Rupee falls further in inter-bank market

Closes at Rs174.43 vs dollar over lack of progress in IMF talks

KARACHI:

The rupee continued to lose ground on Monday and shed another Rs0.43, or 0.25%, to Rs174.43 against the US dollar due to the lack of development in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency had closed at Rs174 to a dollar on Friday.

A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the rupee had lost 9.68% of its value since the start of fiscal year 2021-22 and 12.7% since touching the high of Rs152.28 on May 14, 2021.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Ismail Iqbal Securities Head of Research Fahad Rauf said that silence over talks with the IMF indicated that the two sides had not reached consensus yet and it was the primary reason behind the ongoing wave of decline in the currency value.

“The foreign exchange market is bearing the brunt of prevailing uncertainty in the economy,” he said.

Sharing similar views, Intermarket Securities Head of Research Saad Ali stated that the lack of developments on the IMF front had weakened market sentiment, which pulled the rupee down to a new low.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2021.

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