Mr. Malik Bostan, President of the Pakistan FOREX Association of Pakistan spoke to electronic media about the recent rise in the Pakistan Rupee from approximately Rs. 250 / $US to Rs. 226 / $US. The Rupee experienced a considerable fall in value from Rs. 180 to the mentioned level in a matter of 4 months due to liquidity tightening and rise in oil prices – oil is a major import item.
The State Bank of Pakistan had conducted inquiries into the abnormal fall in the Rupee, which pointed towards speculation and manipulation. Mr. Malik Bostan said that earlier approximately $15 million per day used to come into the market to be converted into Rupees, and that figure is now close to $25 million. He continued by saying that there are an estimated $1 billion in Pakistan homes waiting to come into the market but cannot come into the market due to strict requirements of the SBP, one of which is identification via CNIC for any sale of dollars – the FATF requires this identification on and beyond $15,000. This unnecessarily harsh requirement is holding people back, which is also causing pressure on the Rupee. In mid May 2022, he said that hording of US dollars is happening, which is causing the Rupee to depreciate.
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