Rupee Falls 3rd Day in a Row Against US Dollar

The Pakistani rupee lost further ground third day in a row against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 282 in the interbank market. At 11:30 PM, it was bullish, jumping to the 281 level against the greenback after gaining Rs. 4 during early-day trade. Later, the interbank rate dropped back to 285 between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM before anchoring trends for the remainder of the day. Open market rates across multiple currency counters stood in the 284-286 range today. At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.09 percent to close at 285.64 after losing 27 paisas against the dollar today. The rupee closed in the red third day in a row today. Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 69 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 116 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has lost 27 paisas against the dollar. In a key development, sources told ProPakistani last week that the Ministry of Finance has started work on a comprehensive reprofiling of the country’s domestic debt. The total volume of domestic loans has surged to Rs. 40 trillion, with interest payments alone reaching approximately Rs. 670 billion. A significant portion of this debt burden is attributed to Pakistan Investment Bonds and Ijara Sukuks, amassing over Rs. 26 trillion. To tackle this financial predicament, short-term loans are set to undergo a transformation into long-term commitments through the reprofiling process. This move is expected to not only alleviate the immediate financial strain but also contribute to the long-term financial sustainability of the country and offer more room for volumetric growth in the forex market, a researcher said in a text.