KARACHI: The US dollar lost 42 paisas against the rupee on Friday in the inter-bank market as currency experts believe that the downward trend would continue and the greenback would soon reach the pre-Covid level.

The dollar was traded at around Rs154.50 during the day but closed at Rs154.59 compared to Rs155.01 a day before.

The greenback has depreciated 7.5 per cent against the rupee since August 2020.

Market sources offer a number of reasons that include higher inflows compared to lower outflows as reflected from the current account surplus during the eight months of the current fiscal year.

However, currency dealers in the inter-bank market said the depreciation was witnessed since the demand for dollars from importers had slowed down.

“At the same time, exporters have been selling their dollar holdings in large numbers reducing prices and creating space for the local currency to acquire more against the greenback,” said Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the inter-bank market.

He said it was difficult to assess how far the dollar would depreciate but the coming months would see more inflow and more depreciation. During Ramazan and Eid season overseas Pakistanis used to send more money to their families and give Zakat to charity organisations.

“The dollar buying in the open market has touched the lowest level and we have to deposit more than 90 per cent [of dollars] we buy from customers in banks,” said Malik Bostan, president of the Forex Association of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2021