By Xinhua,
Islamabad : The Pakistani rupee early Thursday continued its downslide and hit a record low of 81.40 against the dollar due to a balance payment crisis and lower investment confidence.
Dealers said the rupee is losing its value due to the high demand for the dollar in the market. Falling foreign direct investment and outflow of foreign investment from the stock markets are other factors that have weighed on the rupee.
The rupee has shrunk about 21 percent since the beginning of the year. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves had hit a record low recently. The rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s sovereign debt to the level of CCC-plus, close to defaulting on its commitments of external loan repayments.
Analysts said the foreign exchange reserves could only afford imports for one or two months for the country.
Pakistan is planning to seek loans from other countries and financial institutions to meet its payment crisis.
The World Bank will provide $1.4 billion support for the country during the next nine months.