Rupee Breaks 8-Day Win Streak But Stays At 279 Against US Dollar

The Pakistani rupee ended its 8-day winning streak against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 281 in the interbank market. It was largely bearish against the greenback during intraday trade and hit 281-282 at brief intervals today. The interbank rate later recovered back to 279 before closing at the same level for the remainder of the day. Open market rates across multiple currency counters were in the 279-282 range today. At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.02 percent to close at 279.64 after losing five paisas against the dollar today. Reversing last week’s recovery, the rupee closed in the red having gained for 8 successive days until Friday. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, it has so far appreciated by 2.25 percent. Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 60 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 107 against the greenback. As per the exchange rate movements seen today, the PKR lost five paisas against the dollar today. Today’s trends confirm last week’s remarks of a trader who told ProPakistani that the rupee was slowing down and would likely reverse recoveries if any late political drama changes expectations for buyers before the February election. “Today’s expectations of a rate cut and January’s discouraging political scenes so far overwhelmed investors as sessions resumed in full heat today. With elections just a week away, more surprises will through the PKR back below 280, perhaps even worse,” the same trader told ProPakistani today. The PKR was red against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It lost one paisa against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), one paisa against the UAE Dirham (AED), 51 paisas against the Euro (EUR), and 77 paisas against the British Pound (GBP). Meanwhile, it lost 50 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) and 64 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) in today’s interbank currency market.