Pakistani rupee ends November at Rs285.17 against US dollar

WEB DESK: In Thursday’s interbank session, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) exhibited a gain of approximately 22 paisa against the US dollar (USD), concluding the trade at Rs285.17. This marks an improvement from the previous day’s closure at Rs285.39 per USD.

The local unit experienced an intraday high (bid) of Rs285.84 and a low (ask) of Rs285.35 during the trading session.

In the open market, the exchange rate remained stable, with currency exchange companies quoting the dollar at Rs284 for buying and Rs287 for selling.

Closing the month of November, the local unit recorded a loss of 3.69 rupees against the US dollar, in contrast to the previous month’s closing rate of Rs281.47 per USD.

Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/NkmZkJNlx7#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/PnbmzN9vGX

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) November 30, 2023

It is noteworthy that persistent pressure arising from the demand-supply gap for dollars influenced the market, leading to four consecutive weeks of losses for the PKR.

Compared to major currencies, the PKR strengthened by 1.12 rupees against the Euro, settling at Rs312.37 compared to the previous value of Rs313.5.

The British Pound experienced a decrease of 10.58 paisa, closing at Rs362.18 as opposed to the previous day’s Rs362.28.

The Swiss franc witnessed gains of 1.74 rupees, closing at Rs326.78 compared to the previous session’s Rs325.04.

However, against the Japanese Yen, the PKR depreciated by 0.3 paisa, closing at Rs1.94 compared to Rs1.937 a day ago.

Other notable currency movements include the Canadian Dollar, which lost 33.87 paisa, closing at Rs210.0141 against Rs210.3528 from the previous session.

Read more: What will be the new petrol price in Pakistan?

The Australian Dollar, on the other hand, closed at Rs189.32, showing a gain of 21.2 paisa from its value of Rs189.11 a day ago. The Singapore Dollar decreased by 42.87 paisa from Rs214.31 a day ago to Rs213.881.

In the ongoing financial year, the PKR has appreciated against the Dollar by 0.82 rupees or 0.29 per cent. However, in the current calendar year, the PKR has depreciated by Rs58.74 rupees or 20.6 per cent.

Shifting to the Money Market, the benchmark 6-month Karachi Interbank Bid and Offer rates experienced a marginal increase by 1 bps to 21.22 per cent and 21.47 per cent.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted a reverse repo Open Market Operation (OMO) injecting Rs759.8 billion into the market at a rate of 22.08 per cent.

Furthermore, in an auction held yesterday, the central bank sold Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) worth Rs1.165 trillion for 3, 6, and 12 months against a target of Rs900bn.

The cut-off yields for 3, 6, and 12 months were 21.4499 per cent, 21.4299 per cent, and 21.4300 per cent, indicating a decrease of 5bps, 7bps, and 7bps, respectively.