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KARACHI, (MANEND NEWS): The rupee continued a downward trend against the dollar on Wednesday amid a high demand of the greenback and a negative sentiment aroused by falling foreign currency reserves and an ongoing political unrest, dealers said.
The local unit closed at 222.41 to the dollar in the interbank market, weakening from 221.91 on Tuesday. It depreciated by 50 paisas or 0.22 percent.
In the open market, the domestic currency fell by 1.25 rupees to 229 versus the dollar.
The rupee lost value in the kerb market after remaining stable at 227.75 for about two and a half weeks.
“Due to inadequate supplies and reluctance on the part of customers to sell dollars, there is a shortage of dollars in the open market. Remittances have also slowed down,” said Zafar Paracha, the secretary general of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan.
“Additionally, the ongoing political unrest brought on by a protest march of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to Islamabad to demand an early elections and a delay in the negotiations between the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan for the completion of the ninth review of the Extended Fund Facility weighed on investor sentiment,” he added.