The rupee weakened against the US dollar at Rs176.75 in the inter-bank market on Tuesday compared with Friday’s close of Rs176.51, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On December 29, the rupee hit an all-time low value of Rs178.24 against the greenback as demand for the dollar was higher compared to its supply in the wake of an expanding current account deficit, swelling imports, 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 short-lived. The rupee had been on the downtrend since hitting a 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, January 5th, 2022.
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