Weekly rupee-dollar parity June 14 to June 21, 2019. — Dawn
Weekly rupee-dollar parity June 14 to June 21, 2019. — Dawn

The US Dollar rose Rs7.2 to hit Rs164 in interbank trade on Wednesday at the close of the day's trading.

The greenback is being traded at Rs163 in the open market ─ an increase of at least Rs6.

Similarly, a massive increase in the value of gold has also been witnessed during this week, with the yellow metal trading at Rs80,500 per 12 grams today.

In the past two months, since Pakistan signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the dollar has been on a consistent upward climb.

Last week, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir had provided assurances that the central bank was ready to intervene in the market in case of excess volatility. Baqir explained that the government had adopted a market-based exchange rate instead of a free float or fixed exchange rate, as neither were appropriate at this time.

Read more: Forex market: SBP keeping a close eye, will intervene in case of excess volatility, governor says

"In the market-based system, you consider supply and demand factors, what side they are pulling the exchange rate, and you don't suppress them. And this is fundamental ─ we keep a close eye on the market, and if there is excessive volatility [...] or special pressures, the SBP intervenes. And we will continue to do so to make sure that there isn't excessive volatility or 'disorderly market conditions', as economists say," Baqir had said.

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