The mighty American currency continues to fall against the Pakistani rupee, as it shed value further on Wednesday morning.
At the start of the trading session on Wednesday morning, the US dollar fell by 86 paisas in the interbank market and reached the value of Rs279.65.
At the time of closing of the day's trading, the American currency lost Re1 and closed at Rs279.51.
This is the first time in three months that the greenback has dropped below the Rs280 mark in the interbank market.
Similarly, in the open market, the American currency fell below the 280 mark to settle at Rs279 after a drop of Re1.
The dollar continues its downward trend against the local unit as its value against the Pakistani rupee had reached Rs280.60 on Tuesday with a decrease of a record Rs1.05 as compared to the previous day's closing at Rs281.65.
The closing rate of the American currency on Monday was Rs281.50 after an increase of Rs1.14.
Also Read: US dollar hits reverse gear as Pakistani Rupee takes driver's seat
In the last one month, the dollar has lost 9% in its value in the open market, while in the interbank trade it has dropped by 17.5%.
The US dollar has shed value by Rs26.49 since September 5.
The Pakistani rupee gained 6.1% against the dollar in September, following the official clampdown on illegal foreign exchange trade in grey and black markets by security agencies.
September's gains almost made up for all of the rupee's losses in August, and technically made it the best-performing currency in the world that month. The rupee hit a record low of 307.1 against the dollar on Sept 5 but has made a sharp recovery since the country's financial regulator and security agencies began taking action to curb black market operations.
Also Read: PKR closing exchange rate today against USD, EUR, GBP, AED, SAR, AUD
The government’s efforts against dollar smuggling have been yielding positive results for over a month now since the authorities launched a crackdown on dollar hoarders and currency exchange mafia, and the army chief vowed to ensure transparency in the trade.
In August, the dollar had reached its highest level in the country's history at Rs335. However, due to the efforts of the government and the military leadership, the American currency has now returned to a level below Rs280.
In an apex committee meeting in September, the civil and military leadership ordered action against smugglers and hoarders. In the light of this decision, numerous smugglers were arrested and dollars recovered from them from all over the country.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves had fallen to $7.6 billion. After the action since September, the FIA deposited more than $900 million in the State Bank of Pakistan. The security forces have also ensured measures to prevent smuggling under the guise of Afghan transit trade.
