18th straight loss: rupee falls marginally against US dollar

Pakistan’s rupee registered a marginal depreciation against the US dollar for the 18th successive session in the inter-bank market on Friday.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee declined by Re0.01 to close at 228.15. During the ongoing fiscal year, the rupee has depreciated 10.25% against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee had registered a loss for the 17th successive session against the US dollar to settle at 228.14 after a decrease of Re0.21 or 0.09%.

In a key development, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by a hefty $1.23 billion to a highly critical level of $4.34 billion, data released on Thursday showed. This is the lowest level of SBP’s reserves since February 2014.

Although the country is facing a serious crisis of foreign exchange reserves, it is meeting international financial obligations to avoid default.

Meanwhile, policymakers are scrambling to secure inflows of dollars with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the UAE part of the efforts.

The UAE on Thursday, agreed to lend $1 billion to Pakistan and roll over an existing $2 billion loan, offering some respite to a nation still reeling from devastating floods.

Globally, the dollar swayed on Friday as cooling US inflation raised hopes of the Federal Reserve slowing the pace of interest rate hikes, while the yen hovered around seven month high on mounting speculation the Bank of Japan could further tweak its ultra-easy monetary policy.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, rose 0.117% at 102.280, having slipped to lowest level since June earlier in the session.

The US central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points in December after four straight 75 basis point hikes in the year, but said it would need to keep them higher for longer to tame inflation.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Friday, set to gain more than 6% for the week, on solid signs of demand growth in top oil importer China and expectations of less aggressive interest rate rises in the United States.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 228.15

OFFER Rs 229.15

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 236.25 and 238.50, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained remained unchanged for buying while gaining 50 paisas for selling, closing at 269 and 271 respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 60 paisas for buying and 50 paisas for selling, closing at 67.80 and 68.40, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 60 paisas for buying and 50 paisas for selling, closing at 65.90 and 66.50, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 236.25

OFFER Rs 238.50