Dubai: Good news for Pakistani expatriates who want to remit money back home but bad omen for their country’s economy as the Pakistan rupee has plunged to record low against dollar at Rs162 for one dollar at interbank trading.
The Pakistan rupee recorded a major crash on as the US dollar rose by Rs5.2 soon after the trading opens on Wednesday causing major concerns in the market.
The greenback is being traded at Rs159.70 in the open marke compared to Rs141.5 against one dollar on May 15. It means that Pakistani currency has fallen by more than Rs21 against one dollar in just over a month.
Pakistan expatriates in the UAE are expected to remit more money as the value of Pakistani rupee against on UAE Dirham has reduced to all time low to Rs43.48 on Wednesday morning compared to Rs42.4 on Tuesday. In May, 2009, the Pakistan rupee was hovering around 21 per UAE dirham.
In the past two months, the rupee’s decline has been trigged by the $6billion IMF bailout package with expected strict conditions including a “market determined” exchange rate.
Pakistan’s economy is going through a familiar boom-and-bust cycle; debt is soaring, inflation is rocketing, and reserves are falling after a deficit blowout. The IMF has long advocated Pakistan to loosen its grip on the rupee, and estimated the real exchange rate was overvalued by as much as 20 per cent in 2017.
“The situation is alraming for us. Though we will get more money through our remittance but the inflation and massive price hike have made lives difficult for our families back home,” said Kamaran Bukhari, a Sharjah based marketing manager.
According to data from the State Bank, the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves as of May 3 stood at $8.984 billion, equivalent to less than three months of import payments.
Opposition parties politicians have also reacted strongly to the economic situation in the country.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif also cricised the government on sharply fallin rupee.
“Dollar soars to Rs160.5 interbank. Pakistan] economy at the verge of total collapse,” she tweeted. She added the damage caused by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government would be irreparable.
