Currency markets: Rupee continues edging up with another 82-paisa gain
Business
Official exchange rate drops to Rs276.80
KARACHI (Dunya News/Web Desk) – The US dollar continued weakening against the Pakistan rupee which started the new week from where it had left during the last session, gaining another 82 paisa in early interbank trading on Monday.
By the time this report was being filed, the official exchange rate stood at Rs276.80 against the previous closing of Rs277.98.
The latest gains come after the government slashed the petrol and high-speed diesel prices by Rs40 and Rs15 respectively, providing much-needed relief to the people and the market alike amid the fears that the unbridled inflation won’t be arrested soon.
Record-high inflation and interest rates are the reasons behind the economic crisis Pakistan has been facing, simultaneously resulting in rising cost of living and cost of doing business, thus crippling the country’s economy.
Monday morning’s exchange rate means the rupee has appreciated by Rs30.30 after nosediving to the level of Rs307.10.
Although Pakistan is facing a severe economic crisis, the record depreciation experienced by rupee was a product of market manipulation – hoarding, illegal trading and cross-border smuggling – and the government has launched a successful crackdown on the elements involved in these practices.
GLOBAL MARKETS
On the other hand, the dollar came off highs in Asian trade on Monday, but held at elevated levels as Middle East tensions escalated, and investors awaited clues to the outlook for US interest rates from a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later this week.
The dollar stayed near a one-week high against the euro and sterling as risk sentiment remained fragile.
The euro was last 0.13 per cent higher at $1.05265, having slid to a one-week low of $1.0496 on Friday while sterling gained 0.13pc to $1.2160, steadying from Friday's one-week low of $1.2123.
It means the dollar index has so far fell 0.07pc to 106.49 on Monday.
Elsewhere, the Israeli shekel slid to a more than an eight-year low of 3.99 per dollar, after the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to "demolish Hamas" as his troops prepared to move into the Gaza Strip.
The shekel has fallen more than 3pc against the dollar since gunmen from the Palestinian group Hamas rampaged through Israeli towns on Oct 7.
The yen was last 0.1pc stronger at 149.39 per dollar, edging away from the sensitive 150-level. Some traders expect an increased potential for Japanese authorities to intervene to support the yen if it weakens past that level.
