RUPEE best performing currency in September 2023

October 3, 2023

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Backed by strict administrative controls, PKR showcased its second-best performance in percentage terms since 2014, appreciating by 6.19% against the US Dollar in the month of September-2023. This remarkable achievement earned the PKR the esteemed title of the best-performing currency globally for the month.

In stark contrast to the gloomy macroeconomic conditions that had plagued the Pakistani rupee, the crackdown on illegal dollar trading, supported by the military, played a pivotal role in its resurgence. By the end of the month, the PKR stood at a rate of PKR 287.74 per USD, a significant improvement from the previous month’s closing rate of PKR 305.54 per USD.

Furthermore, in the open market, it closed at 285/288.5 per USD, narrowing the spread between the interbank and open market rates from 8% earlier in the month to less than 1%, falling below the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recommended limit of 1.25%.

Earlier in the month, the rupee had hit an all-time low of 307.1 per USD in the interbank market and 331 per USD in the open market. However, the government’s determined efforts to crack down on speculators, hoarders, and smugglers, thereby curbing illegal dollar outflows, played a significant role in the currency’s substantial recovery.