RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Thursday expressed serious concerns over the sharp fall in the value of Pakistani rupee against the US dollar.
RCCI President Saboor Malik in a statement said that the depreciation of Pakistani rupee would have a massive negative impact on the already fragile economy of the country. “The dollar has risen to an all-time high against Pakistani rupee, 167 per dollar, in the interbank market and it must be controlled, as it could have a devastating impact on all segments of society, particularly the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” he added.
He said that the fall of rupee in interbank from Rs 158 per dollar to Rs 167 per dollar in just seven days should be a cause of great concern for policymakers and monitoring bodies.
As per SBP data, the total gross divestment during March 2020 just reached $1.501 billion as it was expected trend of foreign outflows leaving the country owing to Corona virus outbreak. This is of grave concern, the state bank of Pakistan must have adopted better safeguard here, he added.
Saboor Malik said that the devaluation of rupee against all major international currencies is the reflection of weakness of the economy, he remarked.
