Dawn: KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee traded at a record low of 90.42 on Thursday for the second consecutive trading session amid increased import payments, especially of oil, and because of a negative outlook on the country’s economy, dealers said.
“There are some oil import payments but there are few inflows of dollars and generally there is rising concern about the direction of Pakistan’s economy,” said a bank dealer.
The rupee traded at its previous record low of 90.35 to the dollar on Wednesday and dealers said it traded at 90.48 in the TOM (one-day forward) market.
The rupee ended at 90.40/45 to the dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 90.27/31.
There are concerns on the economic front as the country’s current account deficit stood at $2.104 billion in July-Nov compared with $589 million in the same period a year earlier.
The deficit is likely to widen further in the coming months because of debt repayments and a lack of external aid.