According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the PKR closed at 215.49 rupees against the dollar, having appreciated by 1.57 percent.
Mettis global director Saad bin Naseer said he believed the rupee’s rise was because exporters, who previously kept their dollar profits abroad, now began bringing their earnings into the country amid appreciation. of the local currency.
On the other hand, demand for the dollar has been reduced due to government intervention to control imports, he said.
However, Naseer warned that any negative news on the political front could lead to the rupee falling again. “Political stability is a must for the positive trend to continue, otherwise the rupee will erase all its gains.”
The secretary general of the Association of Stock Companies of Pakistan (Ecap), Zafar Paracha, shared a similar opinion. He said exporters had previously stopped bringing their profits into Pakistan but were now offloading their dollars, while importers who were previously worried and buying dollars for futures had stopped.
Consequently, there were sellers in the market but no buyers, he said.
He also credited the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for the rupee’s appreciation, saying that he had largely controlled the banks’ speculation and the large gaps they maintained between dollar buying and selling rates.
In addition, the country’s import bill fell in July and will fall further in August as the country will not import oil, he said. The general secretary of Ecap pointed out that the prices of oil, coal, wheat and pulses had been reduced internationally, which would also lead to a lower import bill.
“Overall, things are moving positively and it looks like the pressure on the rupee will ease.”
Zafar said it was “not a satisfactory level yet” and the rupee was due to trade at Rs160 against the dollar in the long term. For this, he suggested, the government needed to link imports to exports, spending to income, and offer discounts to overseas Pakistanis and foreign exchange firms to discourage the hundi/hawala system.
The value of the national currency increased 9.3% in the last eight sessions, according to Arif Habib Ltd.
Despite the recent trend, the rupee has lost as much as 19.36% against the US currency since the beginning of 2022. Since July 1, which is the first day of the current fiscal year, the rupee has lost 6 .41% compared to its US counterpart.
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