Rupee strengthens against dollar
The central bank has the unenviable job of balancing competing policy objectives in a highly uncertain environment. PHOTO: FILE
The rupee strengthened against the US dollar at Rs178.51 in the inter-bank market on Friday compared with Thursday’s close of Rs178.63, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On March 9, 2022 the rupee hit an all-time low of Rs178.63 against the greenback as demand for the dollar stood higher compared to its supply in the wake of an expanding current account deficit, swelling imports and rising global commodity prices. 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 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, March 12th, 2022.
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