Pakistan’s national currency hits all-time low amid spikes in global commodity prices

KARACHI: Pakistan’s national currency on Wednesday plunged to another record low against the US dollar to close at Rs178.63 amid mounting pressure due to spikes in commodities prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, currency traders and analysts said.
While the Pak rupee remained relatively stable as compared to a day before, it depreciated by 0.01 percent in the inter-bank market to close at the lowest historic level against Tuesday’s Rs178.61, the central bank data showed.
“The rupee is under pressure due to increasing commodity prices, particularly of oil which is trading at much higher rates since the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Samiullah Tariq, director research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company, told Arab News.
“The prices of other commodities in the global market have also gone high and the outlook remains uncertain,” he added.
The Brent Crude price has increased by about 17 percent in the first few days of the month and it closed at $132.70 per barrel on March 8.
Pakistani currency dealers said the uncertain outlook would continue to keep the national currency under pressure for the foreseeable future.
“The economic and political dynamics are changing after the war in Ukraine since the demand for the greenback has surged,” Zafar Parachi, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), told Arab News.
“The global situation will continue to exert pressure on the Pak rupee,” he added. “The national currency will also be affected by Pakistan’s import bill and trade deficit in the coming days.”
Pakistani analysts said the demand for dollar was also increasing since investors were looking for safe havens amid the changing global situation.

Pakistan’s national currency hits all-time low amid spikes in global commodity prices