By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee fell by 5.75 percent (or Rs14.5) to an all-time low of Rs252.5 against the US dollar (USD) in the open market on Wednesday.
The slump in the rupee helped Pakistan Stock Exchange jump by 1.87 percent (or 730 points) to 39,785 points at 11:39 Wednesday. The rupee dipped after currency dealers unanimously decided to stop artificially keeping the rupee overvalued at Rs238 against the US dollar for a while. The local currency dropped to Rs252.5 against the dollar at around 11 am Wednesday.
Earlier, currency dealers voluntarily placed a cap on the exchange rate to supply foreign currency at lower rates. The exercise, however led to black currency market.
For Wednesday, US dollar was available at Rs250-260 in the black market. It is to mention here that people used to buy dollars from the open market at Rs238 and sell in black at Rs250-260. The removal of the cap in open market eliminated the black market, and is likely to help increase inflows into formal markets.
Hopefully, USD will now be available
The public would easily get dollars for international travelling, education and medical purposes, according to the representatives of currency dealers.
