23rd straight fall: rupee depreciates against US dollar, settles near 230

Pakistani rupee continued to fall against the US dollar for the 23rd consecutive session, as it depreciated 0.23% in the inter-bank market on Friday.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee declined by Re0.52 to close at 229.67. During the ongoing fiscal year, the rupee has depreciated 10.91% against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee had registered a loss for the 22nd successive session against the US dollar to settle at 229.15 after a decrease of Re0.24 or 0.10%.

In a slightly positive development, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP rose by $258 million to $4.6 billion, data released on Thursday showed.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $10.44 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.84 billion.

Moreover, the World Bank stated that media reports claiming that it has delayed the release of loans to the tune of $1.1 billion to Pakistan are unfounded.

Globally, the US dollar struggled for direction on Friday as fears of an economic slowdown dented risk sentiment, while the yen slipped as speculation continue to swirl that the Bank of Japan will eventually move away from its ultra-easy policy.

The US dollar index, which measures the US currency against six peers, rose 0.069% to 102.090, not far off the seven-month low of 101.51 it touched on Wednesday.

The index is down 1.3% so far this year after sinking 7.7% in the last three months of 2022 as investors bet that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Friday and was heading for a second straight weekly gain, spurred largely by brightening economic prospects for China and resulting expectations of a boost to fuel demand in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 229.65

OFFER Rs 230.65

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 50 paisas for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 237.75 and 240, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 50 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 269.50 and 272 respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 20 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 69 and 69.60, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 66.50 and 67, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 237.75

OFFER Rs 240