KARACHI: The rupee remained under pressure amid a deepening political crisis as it lost another 90 paise against the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday.

The dollar climbed to a record Rs186.13 against Rs185.23 the previous day.

Currency dealers said the importers had been facing problems in arranging dollars to make payments.

While the government itself is in crisis due to the political situation, the policymakers are not giving a clear vision of the day-to-day fall of the rupee.

Traders and industrialists say the free float exchange rate idea is not working and have been appealing to the State Bank of Pakistan to play its role in bringing stability as the exchange rate volatility is posing a serious threat to the economy.

They said the production cost has already jumped by 20pc due to the steep rupee fall that has sharply increased the import cost of raw materials.

The central bank remains silent over the current exchange rate situation, while the government has been arguing that it was due to higher demand for dollars from the importers.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2022