PKR falls by nearly Re1 against dollar in interbank

The Pakistani rupee continued to fall against the dollar for the third consecutive session on Friday, losing 97 paise in the interbank market. The local currency closed at Rs222.47 per dollar, a depreciation of 0.44 per cent from yesterday’s close of Rs221.5, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. Since the start of this fiscal year, the PKR’s value has declined by Rs16.64 or 7.52pc, according to data compiled by Mettis Global. Head of Research at Tresmark, Komal Mansoor, said the PTI’s long march set to begin today had “dampened sentiments once again” due to which the rupee’s value was falling. “In tandem, investors are also spooked by the rising risk profile and want to stay invested in dollars,” she added. The risk of sovereign default hit its highest level since November 2009 early this week. The country’s five-year credit default swap (CDS) — a type of insurance against the risk of sovereign default — increased by more than three percentage points on Oct 25 to reach 52.8pc, a 13-year high.