Pakistani rupee hits record low against US dollar amid IMF talks, rising import bill

KARACHI: Pakistan’s national currency continued to lose its value against the US dollar and hit a new all-time low by closing at Rs175.27 on Tuesday, making experts attribute its downward slide to a rising import bill and uncertain outcome of talks with the International Monetary Fund.
The rupee has lost its value by over 15 percent since May when it was trading at about Rs152 against the greenback.
While its decline initially owed a great deal to the country’s rising imports, negative speculation about the prolonged Pakistan-IMF negotiations for another tranche of a $6 billion bailout package has also put the national currency under pressure.
“The Pakistani currency is continuing to lose its value,” Samiullah Tariq, research director at the Pakistan-Kuwait Investment, told Arab News. “A successful outcome of the talks with the IMF will lead to a one-time adjustment of the currency that may appreciate by two rupees or more. However, the actual adjustment will only take place when we begin to manage our current account deficit.”
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the rupee lost its value by 0.48 percent or 84 paisas in the interbank market on Tuesday.
The Exchang Companies Association of Pakistan’s record showed it also depreciated in the open market where it was trading at Rs175.60 for buying and Rs176.40 for selling against the greenback.
Pakistan’s current account deficit remained high at $3.4 billion during the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year due to a higher import bill amid increasing prices of commodities in the international market.