KARACHI: The US dollar refused to lose its ground and has continued its upward trajectory in the interbank trading as the value of the greenback has appreciated by Re1.00 against the Pakistani rupee on Tuesday.

According to the dealers in forex market, the Pakistani rupee suffered a Re1.00 depreciation in its value during the trading activity on Tuesday and ended the day at Rs217.66. The greenback was also upbeat on Monday when its closing rate was Rs216.66.

On Monday, the rupee which during the last few sessions was showing robustness against the US dollar came under pressure and lost its value by Rs2.01 probably owing to the government decision regarding lifting the ban on the import of luxury items. The commercial banks are buying more and more dollars thus increasing its value in the market.

Besides this, the exporters also wanted the government to keep the dollar rate near Rs216. The ongoing political uncertainty is another factor that keeps dragging the local currency down. The sky-high inflation in the country, rising trade deficit, and falling foreign exchange reserves are putting extreme pressure on the local currency. The IMF tranche which is expected to reach Pakistan by the end-month is likely to give a much-needed boost to our economy and revive confidence in the value of the Pakistani rupee.