Karachi: The Pakistani rupee continued its losing momentum against the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday.
At the end of the session, the local currency depreciated by 0.12% or Rs0.26 against the greenback to close at Rs222.67.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/QnNfYxF9eX pic.twitter.com/ewyO9S9U1r
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) November 17, 2022
It was also the fifth consecutive losing session of the PKR against the USD. In the last five sessions, the Pakistani rupee depreciated by Rs1.25 in the interbank market.
On Wednesday, the SBP assured the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance that action would be taken against banks allegedly involved in overcharging the importers in the opening of LCs by the end of this month.
The committee was told that the SBP held meetings with the banks, warned them about the practice, and advised them to rationalize the spreads being charged to the customers.
Alarming news as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported that Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities spiked to reach Rs62.4 trillion after the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, i.e. FY2023.
Pakistan’s debt reaches Rs62.4 trillion after 1Q of FY23
Alarming news as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported that Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities spiked to reach Rs62.4 trillion after the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, i.e. FY2023.
According to the provisional report by the central bank, compared to the same period last year, this year, the total debt and liabilities increased by 23.7%. During the three months of the first quarter of FY23, the debt counter jumped by Rs2.76 trillion to reach Rs62.46 trillion from Rs59.7 trillion.
The central bank, however, did not give the percentage of Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities in terms of the size of the country’s GDP.
The spike in Pakistan’s debt during the period under review is due to the jump in its external debt that jumped to Rs26.5 trillion – an addition of Rs6.8 trillion or 35% compared to last year.
Excluding the IMF loans, the federal government’s external debt increased to Rs18 trillion within one year. There was a net increase of Rs1.3 trillion in external debt, largely caused by the depreciation of the rupee and the country’s efforts to build foreign currency reserves via borrowing.
