Pakistani Rupee Declines to Record Low Amid Political Instability
Xinhua,
Published 2023 May 11 Thursday
ISLAMABAD : The Pakistani rupee has significantly declined against the U.S. dollar as the greenback was traded at a historic low of 290.22 rupees in the interbank market on Wednesday, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
The U.S. dollar closed at 284.84 rupees on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the local currency depreciated by 5.38 rupees, or about 1.85 percent, to a record low against the U.S. dollar, official figures showed.
According to market analysts, the rupee mainly declined amid the political turmoil in the country, which started after Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday by the National Accountability Bureau on alleged charges of corruption and corrupt practices.
The rupee has been under pressure for quite some time primarily due to the shrinking foreign exchange reserves and uncertainty over the resumption of the International Monetary Fund bailout program that further increased following the ongoing political instability in the South Asian country.
