Pakistani rupee falls to new low

Karachi: Pakistan's currency touched a new low against the dollar yesterday amid concern about the country's mounting economic woes and the ability of its government to tackle them.

The rupee slid to 70 to the dollar in official interbank trading yesterday, a new record. It recovered to close at 69.70 rupees to the dollar, compared to 69.80 on Tuesday. The rupee is under immediate pressure from the price of crude oil, which rose above $130 a barrel yesterday in Asia and has roughly doubled in the past year.

"Oil companies are buying dollars to pay off their imports," said Nabeel Iqbal of Khanani and Kalia, a Pakistani currency brokerage. They were also scrambling for dollars to pay year-end bills for other imports and dividends to overseas shareholders, he said.