The Pakistani rupee (PKR) on Wednesday finally stopped rising against the US dollar after 13 sessions as it dropped by 0.04 per cent in the inter-bank market.

It dropped nine paisas in today’s interbank market to settle at Rs217.88, depreciating by 0.04 per cent against the USD. During today’s open market session, the local currency was quoted at a day low of Rs217.65 against the US dollar.

The recent increase in the value of the rupee is linked to a change in sentiment and the central bank’s operations against participants in currency speculation.

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On Wednesday, as traders prepared for US inflation data and its implications for future Federal Reserve rate hikes, the dollar reached new 24-year highs internationally.

After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that Pakistan’s inflation rate will be 19.9 per cent in 2023 as opposed to 12.1 per cent in 2022, the rupee halted its 13-day winning run.

The lender predicted Pakistan’s GDP growth rate would be 3.5 per cent in 2023 compared to 6 per cent in 2022, however this does not take the current floods into account.

Wednesday also saw a global decline in oil prices for the third day in a straight as investors feared the impact of increasing COVID-19 regulations in China and mounting global economic threats on fuel demand.