Currency system

Currency system

Main article: Pakistani Rupee

The 500 rupee note

Rupee

The Pakistani Rupee was pegged to the US Dollar until 1982. When the government of General Zia-ul-Haq, changed it to managed float. This has been regarded as the best decision by Zia. As a result, the rupee devalued by 38.5% between 1982/83 and 1987/88 and the anti-export bias in the economy was reduced. The basic unit of currency is the Rupee, ISO code PKR and abbreviated Rs, which is divided into 100 paisas. Currently the newly printed 5,000 rupee note is the largest denomination in circulation. Recently the SBP has introduced all new design notes of Rs. 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 denomination, while the design work of Rs.10,000 note is in progress which will help the banking industry in keeping few notes in saving accounts. The new notes have been designed using the euro technology and are made in eye-catching bright colours and bold, stylish designs.

Dollar-Rupee exchange rate

Foreign exchange rate

1 Pakistani Rupee (PKR) = 100 Paisa

The Pakistani rupee depreciated against the US dollar until the turn of the century, when Pakistan's large current-account surplus pushed the value of the rupee up versus the dollar. Pakistan's central bank then stabilized by lowering interest rates and buying dollars, in order to preserve the country's export competitiveness

• Exchange rates: Pakistani rupee (PKR) per US$1

PKR per US dollar 1995-2008

Year		Highest ↑			Lowest ↓
		Date	Rate		Date	Rate
1995			PKR 30.930
1996						PKR 35.266
1997			PKR 40.185
1998			PKR 44.550
1999			PKR 51.90
2000			PKR 53.6482
2001			PKR 61.9272
2002			PKR 59.7238
2003			PKR 57.752
2004			PKR 58.000
2007		Aug 05	PKR 60.75		Nov 01	PKR 60.50
2008		October 10	PKR 80.00		Apr 01	PKR 63.50
Source: PKR exchange rates in USD, SBP

Foreign exchange reserves

By October 2007, at the end of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s tenure, Pakistan raised back its Foreign Reserves to $16.4 billion. Pakistan's trade deficit was at $13 billion, exports grew to $18 billion, revenue generation increased to become $13 billion and the country attracted foreign investment of $8.4 billion^[26].

On October 11, 2008 State Bank of Pakistan reported that country's foreign exchange reserves had gone down by $571.9 Million to $7749.7 Million.The foreign exchange reserves had declined more by $10 billion to an alarming rate of $6.59 billion.