The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will soon complete its investigation into commercial banks involved in manipulation of the currency and foreign exchange operations during the last two months.
According to the details, Pakistani Rupee (PKR) has fluctuated out of control this year as it hit record lows against the US Dollar before recovering in recent days, leading the authorities to suspect manipulation by banks and exchange companies in order to make profit.
“The investigations are being carried out by the regulator and results might come soon,” the spokesperson for the SBP, Abid Qamar, told Reuters. However, he added that an exact date for completion could not be given, but the probe into matter started some time back during the tenure of the previous Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee has directed SBP to take appropriate action against all banks and exchange companies involved in the manipulation of the exchange rate in recent weeks.
The newly appointment Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, has vowed to bring the Pakistani Rupee under Rs. 200 against the Dollar as it had been severely undervalued in the next couple of months. He added that strengthening of the Pakistani Rupee would be one of the main objectives and no one would be allowed to do any manipulation in the exchange rate.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Pakistan closed at Rs. 221.94 against the US Dollar (USD) in the interbank market on Thursday (6 October 2022), which was a gain of Rs. 2.00 compared to Wednesday (5 October 2022) when the local currency closed at Rs. 223.94 against the greenback.
Read more: USD to PKR – Dollar Rate in Pakistan – 6 October 2022.