KARACHI: The US dollar on Wednesday continued taking big strides to reach the level it had attained against the local currency in the first week of this month amid a deepening political crisis.

The currency dealers in the interbank market said the dollar was traded as high as Rs186 during the day but was finally closed at Rs185.92.

The dollar gained Rs1.48 on a day-on-day basis reflecting the increasing weakness of the economy and its representative currency.

Currency dealers didn’t see any chance of rupee’s recovery in the near term saying the persisting political uncertainty was supporting the US dollar which is making sharp gains.

When the dollar climbed to an all-time high on April 7, most currency experts found the exchange rate was going up mostly based on speculation. However, with the change of government in Islamabad, the dollar plunged to Rs181.5 but it resumed its upward journey and rose to Rs185.92 in just four sessions.

Currency dealers are not sure about the future direction of the exchange rate as the political settlement does not look credible for the investors and traders.

Foreign investors have already stopped investing in the country while the outflows of dollars from commercial banks’ accounts were also noted in March.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2022