The local unit closed at 89.80 in the open market against the greenback on account of import payments.
However, previously it has closed at 87.57/64 on Friday, September 16, whereas the previous record low had been just last week when the unit had touched 89.72 in the open market.
The benchmark Karachi Stock exchange (KSE) index was 11264.85, down 342.01 points in the morning session.
Moreover, Asian markets tumbled and the euro fell against greenback as traders fear European leaders will not be able to find a solution to the region's debt.
COMMENTS (25)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Meekal Ahmed
Sir, the per-capita income of India is already well above the per-capita income of Pakistan.
@Meekal Ahmed
The Rupee has also risen against the CAD, GBP and AUD in the past month. It's ridiculous to assume that the Rupee is falling when actually the Dollar is gaining.
@Ranjit: HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ANNA HAZARE....Your Rupee might be better but you are way ahead in corruption..........
@Meekal Ahmed:
Actually the Indian estimated 2010 PPP per capita income is $3500. See http://www.indexmundi.com/india/gdppercapita_%28ppp%29.html
Also, be mindful that during Musharraf's time, he cooked the books using smoke and mirrors to artificially show a higher GDP. He managed to increase the GDP from about $70B when he took over to about $170B in just six years! Not to forget the high inflation rates and 3+% population growth. Go figure how this magic is possible.
It's party time for those who receives petro-dollars.More rupees at hand to buy more arms. Be prepared for more exitement(?).
@Ranjit: Yep, and the funny thing is hundreds of million of Indians don't even have this one dollar.
@Meekal Ahmed:
"According to PPP calculations (basically a cost-of-living comparison in purchasing power terms), Pakistan’s per capita income is $2,300; India’s is well below that. Google and find it but I think it was $1,700. "
I believe PPP for Pakistan is $2,500, for India it is $3,500. The $1,700 figure is for Bangladesh.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html?countryName=India&countryCode=in®ionCode=sas&rank=163#in
By comparison, China's PPP capita income is $8000. The world average is $10,000. So India (and Pakistan) are pretty much at the bottom when it comes to prosperity.
Sadly, Pakistan doesn't seem to be focused on improving the situation at all. Instead of ending all this terrorism crap, and just building roads, rail, oil pipelines and factories to connect Asia together and turn it into Europe, they're still stuck in the wars of the 1980s. Unfortunate, but true.
Meekal Ahmed: Actually, the latest number is USD 3400. See wiki link which has links to WB, IMF and CIA factbook.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ListofcountriesbyGDP%28PPP%29per_capita
Pakistan's is around USD 2700.
Not that it matters much. By any definition, both countries are extremely poor.
Ram Bharose, and with the Indian rupee dropping because of the safety flight to the Dollar, expect inflation to get far worse in India. The RBI should be stepping in to defend the Rupee, but as usual, they're a bunch of clueless idiots.
Meekal Ahmed: India's per-capita income in terms of PPP (purchasing power parity) is about USD 3000. Your numbers must be old.
@Ranjit: Why do you have to bring India in this article about Pakistani Ruppee? Everybody knows Indians are facing 10% inflation
I've been saying this for the past couple of months re pak rupee touching 96 to a dollar and then holding still. Also KSE will stabilize after it touches 8000 points. till then don't invest in pak rupee or kse.
The SBP should be watching the actions of money changers carefully. There is obviously a lot of speculative trading going on. Of course it does not help that the ecoomy is fragile and the external political and economic situation is not good.
If I were the SBP, I would dump dollars in the market and the ensuring appreciation would cause money changers billions of rupees in losses which is what they deserve.
Next time they speculate, they will be careful.
@Hatim: That is a completely suprious comparison and obviously you are not an economist!
According to PPP calculations (basically a cost-of-living comparison in purchasing power terms), Pakistan's per capita income is $2,300; India's is well below that. Google and find it but I think it was $1,700.
The IMPLIED PPP exchange rate for Pakistan is Rs 56/$. Too difficult to explain here what that means.
@Hatim: It seems the media doesn't like to put things in the proper light since they sometimes don't understand what is going on in the world. There is a big world outside of Pakistan which also affects our rupee value like events in Europe and Greece. I am not worried about the Pak rupee- it has strengthened and stablized to some degree despite the challenges we are facing.
very shameful ... in few years with double digit inflation and rocketing prices of commodities, we will be like zimbabwe... a poor , unhealthy and violent society
insiders say USD will b 96-100 range in coming ten days so b ready
The only winners in this war of words between America and Pakistan are foreign currency traders and those foreign banks where rich Pakistanis will dump their money.
I think Pakistan should lop off the last two zeros to bring its Rupee to a position of strength. So instead of $1 = PKR 100, it'd be $1 = PKR 1.
The rupee has actually risen against some currencies like the Indian Rupee. It was trading at 1.9 a few weeks ago and now at 1.75. The Pakistan media portrays everything in a negative light.
1 American dollar = 49.43 Indian Ruppees (on Sept. 23, 2011)
@ Amjad - that doesn't change the fact that Pakistan's economy is declining due to our global isolation.
Next time I go to Pakistan I will be a millionaire with only $100 in my pocket!
I don't know if people in Pakistan watch world trends but many currencies are falling against the US dollar because of global economic instability. In times of uncertainty, people find shelter and put their money in the US dollar which is the traditional safe haven. For example the Canadian dollar has lost several cents value in the last week. I think that newspapers in Pakistan have a responsibility to show readers the bigger picture.