KARACHI: On Wednesday, the Pakistani rupee gained ground versus the US dollar in the interbank currency market.
The local unit gained 59 paisas versus the greenback in early trading, climbing to Rs174.30 from yesterday’s closing rate of Rs174.89, according to foreign currency traders.
The dollar is now trading at Rs175.50 versus the rupee on the open market. The rupee’s gain was attributable to a pause in panic and speculative dollar purchasing, as well as sluggish demand from importers, according to dealers.
Earlier, Shaukat Tarin, the Prime Minister’s Financial Adviser, said that the Satta mafia’ was behind the rupee’s devaluation as well as dollar smuggling to Afghanistan. He said that the government was going to tighten the mafia’s noose.
On Oct. 27, the local currency began to recover from its sharp depreciation against the US dollar when the government announced Saudi Arabia’s financial assistance of up to $4.2 billion, strengthening the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves and improving currency market sentiments.
The rupee, on the other hand, ended its winning run and started reversing gains a week later.