KARACHI: The rupee lost another 18 paisas against the dollar on Thursday to make a new historic low of Rs170.66 in the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said.
The exchange rate ended at Rs170.66 against the greenback from last day’s closing of Rs170.48 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
The dealers said the local currency was in free-fall due to the mounting external payments pressure.
They said oil prices in the international markets were increasing gradually. Besides, the prices of international commodity prices are also on the rise.
The rupee was also under pressure due to corporate payments. The foreign companies operating in Pakistan repatriate their profit and dividends by the end of the quarter to their parent companies abroad, they said.
Market sources said the government was seriously considering taking measures to discourage imports to support the balance of payments. In this regard, an initiative of imposing a 100 per cent cash margin was also under consideration.