Will Pakistani rupee cross 50 against UAE dirham?

Rumours hint that Pakistani rupee will touch 180-200 against the US dollar.

Pakistan has not agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fix the rupee rate against the US dollar and no one can fix or predict the exchange rates, senior Pakistani officials said.
Rumours were circulating in Pakistan that rupee will touch 180-200 against the US dollar (49-54.5 versus the UAE dirham). But Prime Minister Imran Khan and Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, adviser to prime minister, declined there was any agreement or understanding between Islamabad and the IMF on fixing the rupee's rate against the dollar.
In an interview to a private TV channel, Imran Khan said no rupee-dollar rate was fixed with the fund.
"The rupee was overpriced but the ruling elite maintained it at an artificially higher rate by spending the foreign exchange. People are damaging their own country by saying the rupee will hit 180-200 against the dollar. It is a rumour. People will soon see the real parity of the rupee," Imran said, adding that the IMF didn't ask for free float either.
Without disclosing the exact rupee-dollar parity rate, the prime minister hoped that the currency will soon reach its correct level.
Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also rejected reports of fixing rupee-dollar with the IMF.
He said that it is difficult to give the real value of the exchange rate because no one can fix or predict it at a certain level because the market fundamentals decide the rates.
"There is no agreement with the IMF about fixing the exchange rate at a certain level," he said while speaking with the ARY channel.
The rupee has been one of the worst performing currencies in Asia. Last week it fell 7.2 rupees to 164 against the greenback (44.68 against the UAE dirham). The currency had lost 35 per cent of its value against the dollar in the last one year.
Pakistani currency is consistently weakening due to growing trade deficit, falling foreign exchange reserves and the central bank's inability to support the rupee due to dwindling reserves.
The rupee was trading at 159 against the dollar (42.88 vs the dirham) in the open market in Pakistan and 160.3 in the interbank market.
- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com
 

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• Pakistan