Dollar touches new record as rupee depreciation continues

KARACHI: The deterioration in the rupee value continued on Friday, as the dollar hit another high of Rs177.71 in the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said.

The exchange rate witnessed a 10 paisas decline in the rupee value to end at Rs177.71 against the dollar from the last day’s closing of Rs177.61, the previous record low of the local currency, in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dealers said the higher demand for the dollar remained high for import payments. They said improvement in the foreign exchange reserves had also failed to support the local currency.

The foreign exchange reserves of the country grew to $25.15 billion by the week ended December 3, 2021, compared with $22.499 billion a week ago, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.

The rise in the forex reserves may be attributed to the deposit placed by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) with the SBP a week earlier.

The dealers said the higher commodity prices in the international markets and rising domestic demand push up the demand for the dollars for import payments.

The rising import bill widened the trade deficit massively. The trade deficit ballooned 112 percent to $20.59 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year, compared with the deficit of $9.72 billion.