Karachi/Ottawa, Dec 13 – The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is trading at 203.48 Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in the open market this Friday afternoon, the strongest level since July and almost three-and-a-half rupees above where it opened last Saturday.
Inter-bank screens flashed 203.55 shortly after 11 a.m., but profit-taking by remittance companies nudged the quote back to 203.48, still up 0.18 on the day and 1.7 % on the week.
Between December 7 and today the Loonie has climbed in six straight sessions, moving from 200.05 to 203.48, each day posting a higher high and a higher low. The move began quietly on December 7 when oil slipped below $69 and Pakistani importers rushed to cover December shipments; by Monday December 9 the pair had already printed 201.10. Tuesday brought the week’s biggest single-candle gain—0.88 rupee—after the State Bank’s weekly reserves data showed a $258 million dip, reminding traders that the rupee’s cushion is thinning. Wednesday and Thursday added another 1.2 rupees as Western-Union outlets across Punjab raised buying rates to attract year-end flows from Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Friday’s final push came from a modest Brent rebound toward $72 and a slightly softer dollar index, giving the CAD enough momentum to kiss 203.55 before the weekend close.
For households the math is stark: a C$20,000 tuition payment that converted at 200.05 last Saturday costs an extra PKR 68,600 today, enough to fund a round-trip ticket from Lahore to Toronto. Importers of Canadian pulses, paper and potash are facing a similar squeeze; the 1.7 % weekly jump adds roughly 1.7 million Pakistani Rupee to a C$50 million consignment, a cost that will eventually reach supermarket shelves. On the flip side, Pakistani students already in Canada are winners; remitting PKR 500,000 now yields C$2,457 against C$2,499 a week ago, a small but welcome buffer against winter rent hikes.
The broader backdrop is still controlled. The State Bank has not intervened this week, letting the rupee find its level, but traders say dollar demand from energy companies has been routed through Canadian accounts because CAD liquidity is cheaper. That circular flow has exaggerated the move, yet no one is calling it a disorderly slide. Forward premiums for January are quoted at 205.20, implying another 1 % depreciation, while exporters of textiles and surgical goods are being advised to price new orders in CAD rather than USD to avoid a double hit.
Technical charts show the next resistance at 204.80, the 78.6 % retracement of the October–November fall. A weekly close above that opens 209.40, last seen in March 2024. Support is layered at 202.00, then the psychological 200.00 mark that held throughout November.