Rupee Falls Against Major Currencies After Delay in Election Results Rattles Market

The Pakistani rupee fell slightly against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 280 in the interbank market. It was stable against the greenback, rising as high as 281 against the $ during intraday trade today. Notably, other market indicators (PSX, public sentiment) continued to fall considerably. The interbank rate hovered between 279 and 280 before closing at the same level for the remainder of the day. Open market rates across multiple currency counters were in the 279-280.9 range today. At close, the PKR depreciated by 0.02 percent to close at 279.33 after losing five paisas against the dollar today. The rupee closed in the red today having gained two days in a row last week. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, it has so far appreciated by 2.36 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. In a key development, negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to receive the third and final tranche of around $1.1 billion will only start after the formation of federal and provincial governments, which could happen by the end of this month or early next month. Sources told ProPakistani that the lender has no interest in engaging with the caretaker government on this matter and would prefer to wait for the formation of the newly elected government before proceeding with negotiations. 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), 43 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD), 77 paisas against the Euro (EUR), and 85 paisas against the British Pound (GBP). Conversely, it gained one paisa against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) in today’s interbank currency market.