The US dollar seems to have settled at Rs102 as neither the State Bank nor the Ministry of Finance is making any effort to bring it down through any sort of intervention.
For the last ten days, the dollar is pegged at the same level that suits to exporters’ interest. They stopped sending home export proceeds to get benefit of political turmoil which weakened the local currency.
Political uncertainty generated by the sit-ins of PAT and PTI in Islamabad demanding prime minister’s resignation wreaked havoc in the currency market, prompting the greenback to move from Rs98 to Rs103.30.
But things now seem to have settled. “Now there is no panic, no extra demand for dollars. The US currency has settled at Rs102 without intervention from the central bank,” said Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the inter-bank market.
Against the backdrop of dwindling foreign exchange reserves, it is difficult for the government to bring the dollar back at Rs98.