KARACHI: The dollar kept appreciating against the weakening rupee and reached closed to the record high as it was traded at Rs168.02 on Friday.

Currency dealers said the dollar was traded at 13-month high price after it gained 36 paisa. The highest price of dollar was Rs168.43 on Aug 26, 2020.

The current wave of appreciation for the dollar began in May and since then it has been appreciated by Rs15.74 rupees in the inter-bank market. During this period the dollar appreciated by 10.3 per cent against the Pak rupee.

Despite record foreign exchange reserves and much better repayment ability of the State Bank which has over $20bn in its reserves, the exchange rate remained unstable for the last four months.

Experts believe that the rising import bill is the reason for a higher demand of dollar. The widening trade gap is creating fear among importers that exchange rate would further support the greenback against the local currency.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2021