The dollar rose sharply against the Pakistani rupee on Thursday and was trading above Rs152 in the interbank market, reaching a record high.
The greenback was up Rs0.73 against the Pakistani rupee in the opening hours of the market and trading at Rs152.30. In the open market, the dollar rose Rs0.50 to Rs152.50.
The interbank rate is the benchmark rate to determine the value of dollar and sets the direction for open market rates. Since open market or cash market rate usually remains higher than the interbank rate, the open market is likely to follow a similar trend. When cash markets closed for Eid holidays, the dollar was trading at Rs148.8.
The dollar has been closely monitored by both the traders and end users for it remained volatile through much of the present government’s tenure, starting from August 2018. The change of regime resulted in a change of policy whereby the central bank left the dollars to the forces of demand and supply as opposed to managing its rate artificially, which was the practice in the past. The dollar was trading at Rs124 when the PTI government sworn in, but rose by 20% to its current value since then.