The Pakistani rupee recovered further against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 304 in the interbank market.
At 12 PM, it was bullish, rising as high as 297 after gaining ~Rs. 7 against the greenback, in tandem with opening-bell bulls which saw open market rates recover into the 295 category before parrying movement.
Later, the interbank rate eased to the 298 level between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM before anchoring trends for the remainder of the day.
From 338-335 seen on Monday, open market rates across multiple currency counters stood in the 296-300 range today. Since September 4, the open market rate has recovered massively by roughly Rs. 41 against the greenback.
At close, the PKR appreciated by 0.36 percent to close at 298.82 after gaining Rs. 1.07 against the dollar today.
The gap between interbank and open market rates has massively shrunk by roughly Rs. 42 in September. From 337 reported last Monday, the rates have gone down to as low as 295 and have since continued brief spikes till 300 today.
Pertinently, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 78 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 125 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has gained over Rs. 1 against the dollar.
Since last week, traders and exporters have been frequenting cash counters to cash in on their business receipts fearing the greenback rate to maintain a downward trend for the remainder of this week. Meanwhile, the central bank has continued to buy dollars from interbank while commercial banks continue in discipline by conducting currency business in tandem with the International Monetary Fund’s rupee/$ cap of 1.25 percent.
Interestingly, Wednesday saw a slight movement in the black money trade with most signals coming out of Kabul, Afghanistan. The rupee/$ trade briefly spiked sentiments after a few transactions at exorbitant rates of as high as 305 and clapped back a few gains at around 12 PM Pakistan time. The spike was brief but sentiments among Pakistani cash agents managed back a swift recovery. Our channel checks confirmed that 295 was the highest level reached in the free market before easing trends at 300 between 11 AM and 1 PM, while the interbank rate closed at 298 later today, representing a difference of roughly 1 percent.
The PKR was green against all of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained 52 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 57 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), Rs. 1.35 against the Australian Dollar (AUD), and Rs. 1.83 against the British Pound (GBP).
Moreover, it gained 28 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and 29 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED) in today’s interbank currency market.
Source: Pro Pakistani