PKR Depreciates 21 Paisa Against USD

The Pakistani rupee (PKR) depreciated by around 21 paisa against the US dollar in Tuesday's interbank session as the currency settled the trade at PKR 279.57 per USD, compared to the previous session's closing of PKR 279.36 per USD.

The currency saw an intraday high (bid) of 279.9 and a low (ask) of 279.5.

In the open market, exchange companies quoted the dollar at 280.5 for buying and 283.5 for selling.

It is crucial to mention here that  Pak Rupee's Real Effective Exchange Rate Index (REER) increased by 2.91% MoM in January 2023 to a provisional value of 101.7 from the revised value of 98.83 in December 2023.

On a year-on-year basis, the REER index has increased by 8.24% compared to January 2023.

However, the latest data on the country's macroeconomic indicators as released by the central bank disclosed disturbing figures.

Pakistan's current account balance transitioned into the red zone due to a decline in exports and an increase in imports.

The data further showed that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country stood at negative $173.2m in January due to divestment by Chinese investors.

The financial markets are currently witnessing uncertainty due to continuous delays in election outcomes.

According to Fitch Ratings, the near-term political uncertainty may complicate the country’s efforts to secure a financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to succeed the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) expiring in March 2024

In comparison to major currencies, PKR gained 2.55 paisa against the Euro, closing at 301.25 compared to the previous value of 301.27.

The British Pound became cheaper by 75.57 paisa closing at 351.94 compared to 352.7 from a day ago.

The Swiss franc saw losses of 64.21 paisa, closing at 316.45 compared to 317.09 from the previous session.

Against the Japanese Yen, PKR gained 0.36 paisa, closing at 1.8592 versus 1.8628 a day ago.

The Chinese Yuan gained 2.42 paisa, closing at 38.84 against 38.81 from the previous session.

The Saudi Riyal closed at 74.54 with a gain of 5.59 paisa from its value of 74.49 a day ago.

The U.A.E Dirham increased in value by 5.81 paisa from 76.12 a day ago to 76.06.

During the current financial year, PKR has appreciated against the Dollar by 6.43 rupees or 2.3%. While the current calendar year has seen PKR appreciate by 2.3 rupees or 0.82%.

In the Money Market, the benchmark 6-month Karachi Interbank Bid and Offer rates inched up by 8 bps to 21.35% and 21.6%.