The Pakistani rupee dropped to a historic low of Rs201.92 against the US dollar on Wednesday as an ongoing political crisis rocked confidence in the currency.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) the local currency shed 0.25% against the greenback.
The rupee has been declining for months, but the fall became precipitous in March when the then opposition parties tabled a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan that led to his ouster.
The ongoing political drama in the wake of PTI’s ‘Azadi March’ added fuel to the free fall of the local currency.
With regards to negotiations with the IMF on the seventh review, acting governor Dr Murtaza Syed told a virtual post-monetary policy analyst briefing that the negotiations are underway and it will take some time as they are doing a parallel -run on next year’s budgetary measures.
Since the beginning of this fiscal year (July 1, 2021) to date, the rupee has collectively dropped by a massive 28.17% (or Rs44.38) compared to the previous fiscal year’s close at Rs157.54.
The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the last 13 months.
It has lost 32.60% (or Rs49.65) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.
