After the unofficial cap was lifted, the rupee dropped against the US dollar in the interbank and open markets.
In intraday trade today, the rupee fell by more than 24 rupees on the interbank market, its weakest level since July 2022.
Over the past few months, the local currency has held steady in the interbank market. It has not fallen as analysts had predicted, leading many to believe that the government controls the exchange rate.
The State Bank of Pakistan reported the US dollar at 230.89 rupees a day earlier. However, in today’s intraday trade, the US dollar was trading at Rs 255 in the interbank market. The proposed interbank rate change was Rs 24.11.
This is the rupee’s lowest level against the dollar since hitting 239.94 in the interbank market on July 28, 2022. On the other hand, the dollar was trading at $255 in the open market after depreciating by Rs 12, data from ECAP showed.
Capital market experts commented on financial market developments that the SBP appears to be adjusting the exchange rate to market rates – closer to the open market – to account for the growing mismatch between the official and open market rates and to slow down the US dollar. Informal market flows. This is an important step to ensure the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program that forced Pakistan to adopt a market-based exchange rate.
