KARACHI: The Pakistan rupee continued to depreciate against the US dollar Wednesday in the interbank market as the local unit remained under pressure due to a rise in dollar demand.
The local unit was trading at 223.50 after losing 2.08 against the dollar in the interbank market during intraday trade, up from yesterday’s close of 221.42.
The rupee’s depreciation follows a fluctuation in the demand and supply position of the greenback in the currency market.
Albeit, traders and dealers had expected the rupee to trade within a range of 218-19 in the coming days — the situation has quickly changed as the floods have overshadowed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan disbursement.
Initial estimates suggest that Pakistan suffered a massive economic loss in the range of $10 to $12.5 billion as a result of the devastating floods — and the government also plans to cut the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) by billions.
The local unit largely remained stable last week as the market sighed in relief when a $1.16 billion loan tranche arrived after IMF revived a bailout package for a cash-strapped country.
