Staff Reporter Karachi
The US dollar continued to rise against the rupee on Wednesday reaching a record high of Rs173.50 after appreciating by 55 paisa in interbank trade.
According to the Forex Association of Pakistan, the buying rate of the greenback was recorded at Rs173.40 and the selling rate at Rs173.50 in the interbank market by the session’s end. The dollar’s buying rate in the open market was recorded at Rs173.80 and the selling rate at Rs174.20 at around 4:15 pm.
Zafar Paracha, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, explained the persistent depreciation in the value of the rupee against the dollar as a consequence of rising imports.
“The continuous increase in imports is fuelling the dollar’s demand in the market,” he said, adding that there was a possibility of imports rising to $65 billion by the year’s end, up from an earlier estimate of $61bn.
Moreover, he added, the target for remittances from overseas Pakistanis, which was set at $29bn in June earlier this, was likely to be contracted to $28bn.
