Pakistani rupee fell by 34 per cent in FY 2021-22: Report

Pakistan’s fiscal year starts on July 1st and ends on June 30th. The rupee to US dollar exchange rate was Rs158.06 at the beginning of fiscal year 2021-2022, and it reached an all-time high of Rs212.103 in the inter-bank market on June 21, 2022. This represents a depreciation of more than 34 per cent in less than a year.

The graph below demonstrates how the PKR to USD exchange rate varied over time:

During the fiscal year 2020-2021, the local currency plunged 17.47 per cent from Rs158.062 to Rs184.159 in 9 months, from July 1, 2022 to April 11, 2022, under the PTI regime. Since PDM took over, the rupee has lost nearly 14.31 per cent of its value in just three months.

The table below compares PKR to dollar values over time, as well as the government in power at the time:

Dollar demand remains strong in the market, pushing the greenback’s value higher against the rupee. The local currency is likely to remain volatile until the IMF agrees to disburse the next tranche of loans to Pakistan.