Pakistani rupee (PKR) took a breather after going through persistent depreciation as the currency closed the day’s trade at PKR 176.48 against the USD, gaining 29 paisa primarily owing to the receipt of a $3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia under the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
The local unit had previously closed the trade on Friday at PKR 176.77 per USD.
The PKR traded within a range of 1.5 rupees per USD showing an intraday high bid of 177 and an intraday Low offer of 175.50. The available data shows that PKR’s 10-day volatility is simmering down while, the 30-day volatility is stabilizing.
Head of research at Arif Habib Limited Tahir Abbas said that the $3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia is expected to aid in reducing currency volatility in the near future.
According to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), the domestic unit gained 1 rupee for buying and selling through the day, closing at 178 and 178.50 respectively in the open market.
The local currency has depreciated by 10.73% or PKR 18.93 during the fiscal year-to-date against the greenback. Similarly, the rupee has devalued by 9.43% or PKR 16.64 in CY21, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decrease of 0.43%.
The currency, however, gained 1.1 rupees against the Pound Sterling as the day’s closing quote stood at PKR 233.47 per GBP, compared to the previous session that closed at PKR 234.6 per GBP.
PKR’s value improved by 56 paisa against EUR as it closed at PKR 199.03 at the interbank during the session on Monday.
It must be noted that within the money market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an Open Market Operation in which it injected Rs.150 billion for 4 days at 9.14 percent.
The overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 9.50/9.70 percent, whereas the 1–week rate was 8.95/9.05 percent.
