Pakistan’s rupee registered a decline against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, and depreciated over 0.3% on Tuesday
At around 12:30pm, the rupee was being quoted at 219.68, a depreciation of Re0.79 or 0.36% against the greenback, during intra-day trading.
On Monday, rupee had registered a decline for the fourth successive session against the US dollar, and closed at 218.89 after a fall of Re0.46 or 0.21 %.
After witnessing an appreciation run since the last week of September, amid a shift in sentiment driven by Ishaq Dar’s appointment as the Finance Minister, the rupee is now reverting to its old ways amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves and the Dar euphoria seemingly tapering off.
The Finance Minister, in a recent interview with Reuters, had said that the “true value” of the rupee was at a level under 200 to the dollar. “I am for a stable currency; I am for a realistic rate. I am for market-based, but not subject to a currency being taken hostage” and making speculators billions of dollars, he added.
Globally, the dollar hovered near a 32-year peak above yen on Tuesday even as it took a breather from a rally against other major peers.
The US dollar index – which measures the greenback against six major peers, including the yen, euro and sterling – sagged near a 1-1/2-week low as a dramatic U-turn over the UK’s controversial tax-slashing “mini-budget” buoyed European currencies.
Oil prices, a key determinant of currency parity, steadied on Tuesday as a weaker US dollar lent support, although rising shale production and fears that stubbornly high inflation could lead the world economy into recession-limited gains.
