The rupee strengthened against the US dollar at Rs181.82 in the inter-bank market on Wednesday compared with Tuesday’s close of Rs182.02, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On April 7, 2022, the rupee closed at an all-time low at Rs188.18 owing to speculation stemming from political turbulence in the country. Moreover, 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 previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came to power in August 2018.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2022.
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