Interbank closing: PKR declines 4 paisa versus US dollar

WEB DESK: In the latest economic developments, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) witnessed a continued decline for the fourth consecutive session, depreciating by paisa against the US dollar (USD) in Wednesday’s interbank session.

The currency settled at PKR 279.35 per USD, marking a slight drop from the previous session’s closing of PKR 279.31 per USD.

During the day’s trading, the PKR experienced an intraday high (bid) of 279.7 and a low (ask) of 279. Meanwhile, in the open market, exchange companies quoted the dollar at 279.45 for buying and 282.05 for selling.

The ongoing uncertainty stemming from the general elections held on February 8 has introduced a level of disruption to the previously stable exchange rate between the home unit and the USD.

Comparing the PKR to major currencies, the Euro saw a gain of 32.27 paisa, closing at 303.41 compared to the previous value of 303.08.

The British Pound became more expensive by 93.07 paisa, closing at 355.06 compared to 354.13 the previous day.

The Swiss franc gained 45.54 paisa, closing at 315.9, while the PKR lost 1.08 paisa against the Japanese yen, closing at 1.868 versus 1.8572 a day ago.

The Chinese Yuan gained 0.45 paisa, closing at 38.8 against 38.8 from the previous session.

Notably, the Saudi Riyal closed at 74.48 with a gain of 0.86 paisa from its value of 74.48 a day ago, and the U.A.E. Dirham increased in value by 0.88 paisa from 76.06 to 76.05.

Providing a broader perspective, during the current financial year, PKR has appreciated against the dollar by 6.64 rupees, or 2.38 per cent, while the current calendar year has seen PKR appreciate by 2.51 rupees, or 0.9 per cent.

In the money market, the benchmark 6-month Karachi Interbank bid and offer rates edged down by 3 bps to 21.28 per cent and 21.53 per cent, respectively.

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