KARACHI: The US dollar price gap in the open and interbank markets on Tuesday further narrowed to Rs5 against Rs23 just before the start of the current month.
The dollar touched Rs313-Rs314 in the open market on May 31 before it fell sharply by 5.5 per cent to Rs295-296 on June 1. This was the result of the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to allow banks to buy dollars from the interbank market for international card payments as a result of which the exchange companies lost 80pc of their business.
“On Tuesday, the dollar lost Rs3 in the open market and was traded at Rs292 and Rs291 due to higher inflows and lower demand,” said Zafar Paracha, General Secretary Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).
He said the open market has reduced by 80 per cent as the banks have stopped buying from exchange companies while the demand has gone down also due to other reasons.
“The haj season is over while inflows are higher due to Eidul Azha. The open market is in dollar surplus hence it is depreciating against the local currency,” Mr Paracha said.
However, the grey market was still attractive for the remitters and importers. Since the importers are unable to open letters of credit without an arrangement of dollars, they are buying dollars from the grey market at Rs305 on Tuesday.
The interbank market was almost calm with a slight improvement in the rupee value. The State Bank reported a closing price of Rs287.22 compared to Rs287.26 a day before.
Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2023
