KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee continued its downward trend on Friday with the local currency plunging Rs8.87 against the US dollar in the interbank market, ARY News reported.
The rupee’s freefall started soon after the government eased its control over the currency in order to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release the pending loan tranche.
The local unit was trading at Rs268.30 compared to Thursday’s close of Rs255.43 in the interbank market. Meanwhile, the greenback is being sold between Rs265 to Rs268.
The greenback has gained Rs30.41 in the interbank market since Thursday after the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (Ecap) removed an unofficial cap on the exchange rate.
Read more: RUPEE FREEFALL CONTINUES AS US DOLLAR HITS RECORD RS254.75 IN INTERBANK
On the other hand, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday said that the foreign exchange reserves have plunged by US $923 million to a mere $3.7 billion.
“During the week ended on 20-Jan-2023, SBP’s reserves decreased by US$ 923 million to US$ 3,678.4 million due to external debt repayments,” the central bank said in a statement issued on Thursday.
