KARACHI
Pakistani rupee weakened against the US dollar by 90 paisas (-0.31 percent) in the interbank market for the second straight session on Tuesday.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 286.64 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 287.54. During the previous two sessions, the rupee weakened against the US dollar by Rs1.07.
Similarly, the local unit depreciated against the greenback in the open market by Re1 (-0.34 percent). The rupee was quoted in the range of 290-293 against the dollar in the open market as compared to 289-292 a session earlier. In the black market/Hundi, the dollar rose to Rs312 from Rs310.
During the current fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistani rupee has shed Rs1.55 against the US dollar in the interbank market, while it plummeted by Rs60.11 against the greenback in the current year.
Market talk suggested that increasing imports continued to mount pressure on the rupee as demand for the dollar stood high for purchases from overseas markets.
On the other hand, the SBP has decided to extend settlement of card-based cross-border transactions through interbank for another five months. Previously, the SBP on May 31, allowed the banks to purchase the dollar from interbank for settlement of card-based cross-border transactions with International Payment Schemes (IPSs). Initially, the facility was given for two months and expired July 31; however, the SBP has decided to extend the validity of buying dollars from the interbank market for card payments for another five months.
Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP stood at $8.186 billion in the week ending July 21. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.534 billion including $5.348 billion held by the commercial banks. The SBP reserves surged to the highest level in nine months, thanks to financial support from the bilateral and multilateral partners. TLTP
