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Pakistan rupee hits record low
The Pakistani rupee sank to a record low of 80.30 to the US dollar on Wednesday due to unrelenting pressure from import payments and an erosion of confidence in an economy facing multiple problems.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:22 October 9, 2008
Karachi: The Pakistani rupee sank to a record low of 80.30 to the US dollar on Wednesday due to unrelenting pressure from import payments and an erosion of confidence in an economy facing multiple problems.
The new low was 2 per cent weaker than a previous low of 78.69 struck on Tuesday, and the rupee has lost 23.3 per cent this year. The rupee steadied slightly and closed at 79.55/65 as the central bank made a rare admission that it had sold dollars in the interbank market.
"We are intervening in the market," said Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman for the State Bank of Pakistan.
Shortages
Dollar shortages in the kerb market were even more acute as the rate slid to 81, prompting State Bank to issue a statement advising foreign exchange firms to maintain supplies to customers and reassured them of support in case they lacked liquidity.
The central bank has stamped out speculation against the currency in the past few months, but had been unable to halt the steady drip in its value resulting from an unsustainable current account deficit.
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