ISLAMABAD : The rupee made a big gain in Pakistan’s currency market on Tuesday. In the first trading session , the rupee gained Rs 2.55 against US dollar. According to the currency exchange dealers association , US dollar slipped down to Rs 282 (selling) from the last day’s rate of Rs 284.55 against the US dollar. The downward trend in the currency market in US dollar rates is being seen for the last around when month.
Malik Bostan Khan , chairman Pakistan Currency Dealers Association PCDA) , predicts more gain of the rupee in the coming weeks. He claims that the rupee was under pressure due to a buying spree of US dollar the State Bank of Pakistan
Talking to NEWSMAN By phone from Karachi, Malik Bostan Khan said there is a big window for the rupee to gain substantially in the coming days against US dollar as SBP is moving out of the currency market. He said SBP’s buying of US dollar was a basic reason of increase in the US value in the local currency market and since now this Central Bank is not in a mood to buy more US dollar from the open market, it will readjust the rupee to its original value.
According to Malik Bostan Khan, the real value of the US dollar could be Rs 270 and even less and if it slides down to its actual level it will provide much room to the rupee to make substantial gain in the coming months.
The last year Malik Bostan Khan had predicted that the rupee-US dollar should be around 250 : 1 by December 31, 2024. His assessment could have been perfectly correct had SBP not undertaken a massive campaign to buy US dollar from the market.
SBP might have purchased US dollar to build up its reserves to a level required to Pakistan to qualify for next tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but it hurt 250 million people of Pakistan as the inflation spiked with rising value of US dollar and the businesses and industrialists used higher rather artificial value of US dollar to increase the prices of each and every thing wanted by the masses. For example, lentils , soaps, cooking oils, ghee, sugar and even those edible which are locally produced like vegetables and variety of fruits are sold at 30 percent to 40 percent extra prices as compared to the last year’s rates. When any customer reacts to increasing prices of the products, shopkeepers quotes dollar value. In real terms, if dollar value had not artificially gone-up it could have keep the rates of the daily used items much lesser than today’s rates.
Since the businesses and industrialists are free to make money, there is very little hope that US dollar depreciation’s benefits trickle down to the needy masses.