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In the local currency market, the rupee free fall versus the dollar and euro continued this week.

Continued unrest on the political front and persistent weak macro-economic indicators are not allowing the rupee from coming out of pressure.

The dollar has almost reached Rs100.

Historical trend shows that in the interbank market, the rupee has depreciated by 40.5 per cent in the past one decade of which 36 per cent decline has been recorded during the PPP regime since March 2008.

In the interbank dealings, the rupee continued its downslide against the dollar this week.

The dollar now seems to hit Rs100 mark any moment. It has already appreciated by 0.45 per cent against the rupee so far this year.

Trading activities were disturbed by Dr Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri’s long march against the PPP government and the growing unrest over target killings this week.

In the first trading session of the week, trading activities remained surrounded with uncertainties, amid deteriorating political and economic conditions.

The rupee amid thin trading in the interbank market on January 14 shed five paisa against the dollar on the buying counter and eight paisa on the selling counter and was changing hands at Rs97.35 and Rs97.40.

The dollar had closed previous week at Rs97.30 and Rs97.32.

The rupee downtrend persisted in the second trading session as it further drifted lower against the dollar, slipping by five paisa on the buying counter and also losing four paisa on the selling counter and pushing dollar at Rs97.40 and Rs97.44.

The dollar climbed to the week’s highest levels at Rs97.60 and Rs97.65 after the rupee extended its decline against the dollar for the third straight session, suffering 20 paisa loss on the buying counter and posting 21 paisa fall on the selling counter on the third trading session.

In the fourth trading session, it managed to restrict further weakening against the dollar and traded at Rs97.60 and Rs97.63, showing no change on the buying counter but inching up by two paisa on the selling counter.

In the last trading session, the rupee failed to resist fall in terms of the dollar as it posted 10-paisa decline on the buying counter and 11-paisa loss on the selling counter before closing the week at Rs97.70 and Rs97.72, down 40 paisa over the previous
weekend.

In the open market, the dollar enjoyed uninterrupted ride versus the rupee this week.

The market remain closed on January 14 due to protest over Quetta killings. Trading resumed on January 15 with the rupee suffering 20 paisa decline against the greenback which traded at Rs99.00 and Rs99.20 after having closed last week at Rs98.80 and Rs99.00.

The rupee extended its overnight weakness against the dollar for the second straight session, shedding 40 paisa on January 16 when the dollar was changing hands at Rs99.40 and Rs99.60, its highest level so far.

The rupee, however, staged a rebound against the dollar on January 17 as it successfully restricted dollar’s further climb in the third trading session, partially recovering 30 paisa on the buying counter and 20 paisa on the selling counter.

The dollar closed the day slightly lower at Rs99.10 and Rs99.40. Trading activities were again disturbed on January 18, as the open market activity came to standstill due to deteriorating law and order in Karachi.

The market operated for three sessions this week. The rupee in the open market posted 40 paisa loss against the dollar in the three sessions.

Versus the European single common currency, the rupee continued its downslide this week, hitting all-time lows amid fluctuations.

The euro is currently hovering around Rs133 in the local currency market after hitting 11-months high against the dollar in the international market.

Trading activities remained suspended in the open market on January 14 due to law and order situation.

However, it continued its depreciation in relation to the euro on January 15 as the rupee posted 40 paisa loss at Rs131.50 and Rs132.50 against last weekend’s Rs131.10 and Rs132.10.

The rupee managed to rebound against the euro on January 16 when it recovered 30 paisa at Rs131.20 and Rs132.20.

It, however, slipped by 60 paisa on January 17, changing hands against euro at Rs131.80 and Rs132.80, its lowest level in the week. No trading activity was observed in the open market on January 18 due to unrest in the city.

The rupee thus ended the week unchanged against euro. During the week in review, the rupee suffered 70 paisa loss versus euro in three trading sessions.

The rupee has so far depreciated by 2.9 per cent against the dollar this year.

On the international front, the euro climbed to an 11-month high versus the dollar on New York first trading session. It was last up 0.2 per cent against the dollar at $1.3377, retreating from a high of $1.3403, its strongest since late February 2012.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose 0.2 per cent at 89.35 yen after breaching an options barrier at 89.50 yen.
Against the dollar, sterling dipped 0.5 per cent to $1.6058 in London trade.

On January 15, the euro fell against the dollar after three straight days of gains and last traded at $1.3308, down 0.6 per cent on the day but up 0.9 per cent so far this year.

The yen rose after falling four straight days against the dollar which last traded down 0.7 per cent at 88.82 yen, its worst showing in about a week. In London, sterling fell 0.1 per cent to $1.6055 and stayed stuck in a range above this month’s low of $1.5992 but below weekend peak of $1.6182.

On January 16, the euro slipped for a second consecutive day, falling 0.1 per cent against the dollar to $1.3286. The yen advanced against the dollar for a second straight session with dollar trading at 88.39 yen, down 0.5 per cent on the day after the yen hit a 2-1/2-year low of 89.67 yen to the dollar earlier this week.

Sterling fell to a seven-week low against the dollar in London, down 0.5 per cent to hit $1.5975, its weakest since November 28. It later recouped some of its losses and was last down 0.35 per cent at $1.6007.

On January 17, the yen plunged to a more than two-and-a-half year low after dollar rose as high as 90.10 yen and last traded at 89.89, up 1.7 per cent, marking the biggest rise since November 2011.

The euro, meanwhile, advanced against the dollar and last traded at $1.3380, up 0.7 per cent on the day, but below opening
week’s 11-month high of $1.3403.

In London, sterling hit an eight-week trough against the dollar, falling 0.3 per cent against the dollar to hit $1.5956, its lowest since November 23.

At the close of the week on January 18, the yen dropped for a second straight day against the dollar which hit a high of 90.18 yen during the global session, its highest since June 2010 and last traded up 0.1 per cent at 89.94 yen.

The euro, meanwhile, retreated from $1.3401, just shy of an 11-month high of $1.3403 set on January 14 and last traded at $1.3284, down 0.7 per cent on the day.

Sterling fell to a nine-week low against the dollar in London trade, down 0.8 per cent to hit $1.5857.