The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) finally held out against the US Dollar (USD) after five consecutive days of losses, and appreciated by one paisa against the greenback in the interbank market today. It hit an intra-day low of Rs. 178.20 against the USD during today’s open market session.
The PKR appreciated by 0.01 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 177.88 today after it posted losses of 18 paisas and closed at an all-time low of Rs. 177.89 in the inter-bank market on Monday, 13 December.
Today’s holdout offers a temporary breather for the exchange ledger as numerous financial indicators, including the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Decision and related inflationary outliers that have made little room for the rupee to settle at comfortable levels.
Although today’s holdout looked brief from the outset, the local unit’s drop has halted on the back of rising uncertainty about the State Bank’s monetary policy decision for another interest rate hike.
In extension, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast a higher inflation projection for Pakistan, saying that adjustments to energy tariffs and higher global commodity prices are expected to exert upward pressure on domestic prices.
Moreover, with $2.4 billion of inflows during November, workers’ remittances have also continued their incredible streak of remaining above $2 billion since June 2020. In terms of growth, on a Year-over-Year basis, remittances increased by 0.6 percent in November 2021.
It is expected that the inflows of remittance may be volatile and will improve in the coming months due to the incentives under the newly launched Sohani Dharti Remittance program. The reopening of business in the global market and the resumption of the export of manpower to various countries might have a positive impact on the growth front.
Regarding the PKR’s interbank performance during the trading hours earlier today, the former Treasury Head of Chase Manhattan Bank, Asad Rizvi, said, “In today’s MONETARILY POLICY, SBP will increase its INFLATION TARGET from 7-9% to DOUBLE-DIGIT[s]. In November there was plenty of room for upward adjustment, but SBP knowingly did not act to calm the sentiment. However, [a] 75-100bps hike may not be enough to meet IMF demand”.
The PKR maintained its blanket performance against the other major currencies as well and posted gains in the interbank currency market today.
It gained 41 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 20 paisas against the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), and held out against the Chinese Yuan (CNY).
It also held out against both the UAE Dirham (AED) and Saudi Riyal (SAR) in today’s interbank currency market.
Besides this, the PKR posted gains of 80 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), 56 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and 45 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD).
Source: Pro Pakistani