Pak. rupee recovers

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 1. After the tumultuous changes in the political and foreign policy front here since the September 11 attacks in the U.S., now comes the unbelievable news on the economic front.

The U.S. dollar in the last five days has taken a beating like never before. Albeit the consensus that it is purely a temporary trend nevertheless it has happened. In a span of less than a week the Pakistani rupee has gained against the dollar by over three rupees and fifty paise.

It required over Pakistani Rs. 67 last week to buy one dollar. Today in the open market a dollar was available for just Rs. 63. It is indeed a remarkable development from the Pakistan viewpoint. For over two decades now the value of the dollar has only climbed up.

Of course there has to be a word of caution. How long the trend will last is anybody's guess. A variety of factors could have contributed to the sudden and sharp decline in the dollar value. To begin with there are no takers for the dollar. The developments of September 11 have cast a long shadow on the export markets in Pakistan. The Commerce Minister, Mr. Razak Abdul Dawood, admitted that export orders worth millions stand either postponed or cancelled thanks to the all round uncertainty. The tourism, shipping, airline and banking industry seem to be hit hard. Besides there is outpouring of dollar aid (for the Afghan refugees) from several western countries. In the last two weeks Pakistan has negotiated debt re-scheduling agreements with some of the developed countries including the U.S.

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Section  : International
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