ISLAMABAD, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) intervened on Wednesday to arrest the continuous slide of Pakistani rupees against U.S. dollar in the interbank and the open markets.
The central bank pumped greenbacks into the interbank market to halt the steep decline in the value of the local currency, which closed the day at 110.52 on Wednesday as against the close of 110.64 rupees recorded on Tuesday.
The local currency moved in a narrow range throughout the day after the central bank's intervention, experts told Xinhua, further stating that the SBP directed a few major banks to sell their holdings which put brakes on the U.S. dollar's rally.
The intervention has put an end to a three-day slide of Pakistani rupee against the greenback. Pakistani rupee gave away 5 percent value against U.S. dollars in the three-day fall. During the intraday trade, the greenback surged up to 111.10 rupees besides hitting an intraday low of 110.25 rupees.
Due to the recent decline in the value of the national currency, the burden of debt on Pakistan increased tremendously. The country's overall debt jumped by 352 billion rupees to 22,943 billion rupees from the previous figure of 22,591 billion rupees.
