The rupee weakened against the US dollar at Rs175.23 in the inter-bank market on Friday compared with Thursday’s close of Rs174.66, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On November 12, 2021, Pakistani currency touched an all-time low of Rs175.73 as demand for the foreign currency stood higher compared to its supply in the wake of increase in import payments, rising global commodity prices and uncertainty about the resumption of IMF loan programme. Earlier, the announcement of $3 billion cash deposit by Saudi Arabia in the State Bank helped the rupee to appreciate, however, the recovery proved to be short-lived. The rupee had been on the downtrend since hitting 22-month high of Rs152.27 in May 2021. The SBP has injected $1.2 billion into the inter-bank market to defend the rupee in the ongoing fiscal year and has pumped a total of $5.8 billion since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came to power in August 2018.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2021.
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