Pakistani rupee becomes ‘world’s best performing currency’

Karachi: Pakistan’s volatile rupee (PKR) became the “worlds best performing currency” in the week that ended on October 7, as it made the largest gain of 3.9 per cent over five working days to 219.92 PKR to a dollar on expectation of significant foreign currency inflows.
“The rupee remained the best performing currency on a week-on-week basis,” The Express Tribune quoted Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Tahir Abbas as saying.
Friday was the 11th consecutive working day for the Pakistan rupee when it maintained the winning streak since the current Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced his return to to the country by ending a five-year self-exile last month.
Apparently, after taking over, Dar resumed his old policy of protecting the rupee against the onslaught of the US dollar.
He found the rupee undervalued at July’s all-time low of nearly 240 to a dollar and suspected the manipulation of the rupee value by commercial banks to serve vested interests. A probe in this regard is underway.
Speculation is rife that the rupee will resume its downturn in the backdrop of strengthening US dollar against many major world currencies, bouncing back of global crude oil prices to above $90 per barrel, fears of recession in Europe, drop in Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves and no significant increase in the country’s exports, according to experts.