KARACHI: The rupee snapped its five-day winning streak as it lost 14 paise to the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a $217 million drop in its foreign exchange reserves on a week-on-week basis.

The greenback appreciated to Rs285.27 from Rs285.13 the previous day, reported the SBP. However, the rupee lost 50 paise to close at Rs286 in the open market.

The dollar which reached as high as Rs307.10 in the first week of September fell sharply to as low as Rs276.5 in mid of October but again appreciated to Rs289.

Currency dealers said there is no way to get rid of the demand-led appreciation in the dollar value. The market believes the greenback would regain its earlier position in due course of time.

SBP reserves fall

Meanwhile, the central bank reported a steep decline of $217m in its foreign exchange reserves to $7.18 billion due to debt repayments during the week ended on Nov 17.

The SBP has been striving to retain its forex holdings close to $8bn. The government hopes to receive the second tranche of $700m in the first week of December.

However, currency dealers believe the possible inflows could not change the market sentiments.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $12.302bn while the holdings of the commercial banks were $5.122bn during the week.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023