The dollar’s slide against the rupee continued on Friday as the US currency traded as low as Rs96.10 in the inter-bank and Rs98.20 in the open market.
“We traded the dollar at Rs96.10 and closed the trading at Rs96.20-30,” said a currency dealer.
Bankers attribute the higher inflows coming into the market of export proceeds, higher remittances and loans and payments coming from bilateral and multilateral sources.
“We are only thinking of the dollar’s slide as the rupee has appreciated by 13 per cent over the past few months. There is no sign yet that the trend will change soon,” Atif Ahmed said.
The successful launch of Eurobond by Pakistan, which fetched $2 billion instead of an estimated $500 million, put enormous pressure on the exchange rate.
“No one was expecting that Eurobond would fetch $2bn. This has put pressure on the dollar. Moreover, the auction of 3G telecom licence may bring more foreign inflows
Malik Bostan, Chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, said the dollar might stay at Rs95 in the open market, but it was difficult to say for how long.
