KARACHI: The rupee on Monday plunged to a fresh low at 201.05 against the US dollar after a day-on-day depreciation of 80 paise in the interbank market.
According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the dollar was trading at Rs201.05 around 11.30 am after appreciating 80 paisa against Friday’s close of Rs200.25.
The domestic currency has maintained the trend of making and breaking records for the 12th consecutive working day. Data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed the dollar had closed at Rs200.14 on Friday.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/lB20zSWTJX pic.twitter.com/BW8t3EoLGw
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) May 20, 2022
The persistent decline in the rupee’s value since May 10 has been largely attributed to the country’s rising import bill, widening current account deficit and depleting foreign exchange reserves.
Since the PML-N-led coalition government took over on April 11, when the dollar was valued at Rs182.3, the greenback has risen by Rs18.75, or 10.28pc.
The IMF has made the resumption of the programme conditional on the reversal of fuel and energy subsidies introduced by the previous PTI government.
It has also made the reversal of the subsidies a pre-requisite to the expansion of the loan programme by $2bn, which the government has sought to prop up Pakistan’s balance of payments position and foreign exchange reserves.
The PML-N, which now leads the incumbent coalition government, had severely criticised former prime minister Imran Khan’s government for “derailing” the IMF programme through these subsidies but despite being at the helm for over a month, it has not reversed them.
