The Pakistani rupee hit a new all-time low on Wednesday, reaching Rs202 against the US dollar for the first time in the inter-bank market.
The rupee slumped Rs1.08 to a historic low of Rs202.49 against the greenback just before noon, cumulatively losing over Rs16 against the greenback in the past 14 working days.
The country’s capital markets continued to plunge as the ousted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) began its long march to the federal capital amid the coalition government’s crackdown on party workers and leaders in an attempt to stop the party from marching on to Islamabad.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange sank 1.22% (or 513 points) to a one-year low, at 41,438 points at noon as well.
According to experts, political uncertainty was indicative of economic turmoil in Pakistan. Bloomberg also reported that the threat of default was fast approaching Pakistan as the political crisis continued to deepen.
The report came ahead of a likely inconclusive end to talks between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The government had been hoping for a revival of the $6 billion loan programme during negotiations in Doha.
Islamabad is estimated to record a net outflow of over $7 billion from the reserves in May and June, as it is scheduled to repay maturing global bonds worth $4.5 billion and another $3 billion to finance the current account deficit by end of June 2022.
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