Rupee depreciates around 1%
KARACHI:
Pakistani currency depreciated Rs1.54, or 0.95%, and closed at a nine-month low of Rs161.48 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday apparently due to increase in the outflow of foreign currency on account of a significant rise in imports.
The currency had last closed above that level at Rs161.82 on October 22, 2020.
The rupee came under pressure the same day when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that the current account balance had turned into a deficit of $1.6 billion in June - the highest since December 2018.
The spike in the deficit, which was reported after the close of inter-bank market, still impacted the rupee-dollar exchange rate.
Market watch: PSX shoots to over 2.5-year high
Benchmark KSE-100 index soars 502.99 points to settle at 45,153.42
PHOTO: ONLINE
KARACHI:
The stock market achieved a major milestone as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged over 500 points and powered past the 45,000-point barrier for the first time since May 2018.
The market was buoyed by strong investors’ interest, which lifted trading volumes to 664.5 million shares. Bulls reigned supreme and stock investors welcomed the government’s decision on partial settlement of circular debt with the independent power producers (IPPs).
The rise was also attributed to upbeat data of petroleum product sales which rose in double digits. Oil sales were up 16% to 1.59 million tons in December 2020 compared to 1.37 million tons in the same month of 2019.
Market watch: Impressive rally takes KSE-100 above 43,000 tribune.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tribune.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.