KARACHI: The rupee again lost its value against the US dollar on Tuesday in the interbank market leaving no chance to survive against the high tide of dollar demand.

The State Bank reported the closing price of dollar at Rs232.93 in the interbank market as the greenback gained Rs3.05 on Tuesday. Since the inception of new government in Islamabad in the beginning of second week of April, the dollar appreciated by 28 per cent or Rs51 per dollar.

The importers are unable to arrange dollars for imports while State Bank is unable to improve its foreign exchange reserves still below double digit.

Currency dealers said that currently the political uncertainty is more critical than economic performance. The uncertainty in the currency market is a reflection of political situation of the country.

So far the government could not arrange dollars to continue foreign paym­e­nts like debt servicing and strengthen exchange rate. The deal with IMF is still not clear for the market.

The finance minister used to claim every second day that the deal with the IMF is about to be signed.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2022