ISLAMABAD: The rupee, which had been consistently recovering since July 29, reversed the trend on Wednesday, declining by 98 paise against the dollar.
Data shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed that the rupee closed at 214.88 per dollar, having depreciated 0.46 per cent.
Komal Mansoor, head of strategy at Tresmark, said the rupee had lost ground Wednesday because of lower-than-expected remittances. Most analysts still believe that rupee will oscillate around 215 levels till the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves the release of the tranche to Pakistan, she added.
Data released by the SBP on Tuesday showed the rising trend of remittances reversed in July when a decline of 7.8pc was recorded compared to the same month of the previous fiscal year.
The country received $2.523 billion in July FY23 compared to $2.736bn in July FY22, the SBP reported. The country received over $31bn in remittances in the previous fiscal year, a record high.
The SBP’s data showed that remittances from almost all important destinations, with the exception of the United Kingdom, declined.
Meanwhile, FAP Chairperson Malik Bostan said the rupee had fallen because commercial banks were buying the greenback at higher rates. He urged the SBP to take action against banks that were buying dollars at higher rates to avoid a negative impact on the trading activity in the open market.
He claimed that exporters were putting pressure on the government through a lobby to cap the exchange rate at its current level so they would not face losses.
“Exporters start lamenting about losses to blackmail the government every time the rupee’s value increases. If the government gives in to their pressure, the dollar’s further fall will be stopped,” he commented.
After two weeks of battering against the dollar, the rupee had fallen to its lowest level against the greenback on July 28, closing at Rs239.94. However, this trend had reversed, with the local currency rising by Rs26.04, or 10.8pc, till Aug 16 (Tuesday).
The biggest hike was seen on Aug 3, when the rupee appreciated by a record Rs9.59. –Agencies
