Pakistani rupee hits new all-time low against dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee broke a stability streak and lost 51 paisas to hit an all-time low against the dollar in the interbank market on Monday.
The greenback reached a historic high of Rs169.6 at the close of Monday’s trading session, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s data. It stood at 169.08 at the end of last week. 
The last time the Pakistani currency touched a record low was on September 15, dropping to Rs169.12 against the dollar. 
With the fresh fall of 0.31 percent, the rupee has cumulatively lost 11.38 percent (Rs17.33) of its value since May 14, when the US dollar was as low as Rs152.27. 
Pakistan’s currency traders and analysts blame a rising import bill and the Afghanistan situation among other factors for the ongoing depreciation of the national currency. 
“Due to higher commodity prices, supply chain bottlenecks and uncertain situation in Afghanistan, demand for US dollar is higher than supply,” Samiullah Tariq, the Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company’s head of research, told Geo.tv news website. 
The country’s central bank has also stayed away from the currency market, saying it wants to adhere to a market-based exchange rate policy. Previously, the SBP used to sell dollars in the market to stabilize the currency. 
As the central bank was following a flexible exchange rate, the exchange rate parity was going in favor of the US currency due to higher demand, Tariq added.