KARACHI: The US dollar kept going higher against the rupee on Wednesday setting record on day-to-day basis creating frustration among the stakeholders of the economy.

The closing price of dollar in the interbank market was Rs206.46 while it appreciated by Rs1.30. On Tuesday, the dollar appreciated by Rs1.30 against the local currency.

The fear of default by the country is high in the financial sector mainly because of steep decline in the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank. Each day the finance minister issues alarming statement about the external account of the country while at the same time, he has failed to open any window for the inflows of dollars.

The open market witnessed the dollar price as high as Rs208.

Govt raises Rs834bn

The government raised Rs834 billion through auction of market treasury bills on Wednesday while it accepted the highest amount for the three-month paper.

It accepted Rs689.5bn for three-month T-bills at the cut-off yield 15.25 per cent. An amount of Rs12.5bn was raised for both six-month and 12-month T-bills at the rate of 14.95pc each.

The government raised Rs714.5bn through auction while Rs119.6bn was raised through non-competitive bids making the total as Rs834.07bn.

The government raised Rs27.460bn through auction of Pakistan Investment Bonds.

An amount of Rs9.08bn was raised for two-year PIBs and Rs18.250 for three-year PIBs. It also raised Rs125m as non-competitive bids.

Published in Dawn,June 16th, 2022