KARACHI: In intraday interbank trade, hours before the central bank's monetary policy review and amid worries about a still-stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal, the Pakistani rupee fell by nearly Rs 18.89 versus the US dollar,  media reports said.

At 11:36 a.m. (local time), the rupee was trading at 285 versus the dollar after finishing the previous day at Rs 266.11. The local currency was selling at Rs. 292 to 1 USD in the open market.

ECAP general secretary Zafar Parahca said the major concern in the market is the delay in the agreement with International Monetary Fund. However, the lender's condition to peg the currency rate with that of the grey market  has triggered uncertainty, the report said. adding that in the grey market, the greenback was trading at Rs 290 a day ago. The current rate is too high and shouldn't have risen that much.

Adnan Asghar, a currency market analyst, stated that delays in a settlement between Pakistan and the IMF are to blame for the currency's decline. According to Geo News, he claimed that as a result of the delay, the nation is "nearing a default position". Uncertain political circumstances continued to be a contributing element, he said.
Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has criticised the administration for "slaughtering" the currency.

"Rupee slaughtered: in 11 months of PDM, it lost more than 62 percent, or 110 dollars. Due to this, there is now a 14.3 trillion rupee increase in public debt alone, and inflation is at a historic high of 31.5%" News quoted the former prime minister as saying.

The PTI chief alleged that Pakistanis "paying heavy price of regime change conspiracy where a bunch of criminals" were "foisted upon the nation" by the former army chief General  Qamar Javed Bajwa.

In the UK grocery prices have risen by a record-breaking 17.1%

France's rate of inflation is going to rise and reach 10% in March