Rupee falls to Rs226.37

Smuggling impacts rupee-dollar parity, says FM

KARACHI:

In addition to dollars, the smuggling of high-value food goods to neighbouring countries has continued to take a toll on the Pakistani currency which dropped to an almost 3-month low to stand at Rs226.37 against the greenback on Wednesday.

The rupee maintained a downtick on the seventh consecutive working day, falling by a fresh 0.10% (or Rs0.22) to Rs226.37 in the inter-bank market.

Elaborating on the wide gap of Rs30-35 at the inter-bank and black currency, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the smuggling of foreign currency, wheat and fertiliser have been weighing on the rupee-dollar parity.

Pakistan is spending huge amounts of its foreign exchange reserves to import wheat and fertilisers.

“The goods are being smuggled to neighbouring countries and impacting the value of the rupee,” added Dar. The domestic currency has dropped by almost 4% (or Rs8.58) in the past 10-weeks to Rs226.37 in the interbank market, as compared to Rs217.79 in early Oct, 2022.