Karachi, Jan 24 – The Canadian Dollar is trading at 203.92 Pakistani Rupees in the open market this Friday afternoon, its loftiest quote since early January and almost four rupees above last weekend’s 199.90 print.
Screens at Kharadar and Liberty flashed 204.05 just after 1 p.m., but profit-taking by exporters trimmed the quote to 203.92, still **0.32 paisa higher on the day and 2.0 % up on the week.
Between January 18 and today the Loonie has climbed in five straight sessions, moving from 199.50 to 203.92, each day posting a higher high and a higher low. The move began quietly on Monday when year-end demand from Canadian universities collided with thin Pakistani Rupee liquidity; by Wednesday the pair had already printed 201.80. Thursday brought the week’s biggest single-candle gain—1.10 rupees—after the State Bank’s reserves data showed a $312 million dip, reminding traders the rupee’s cushion is thinning. Today’s final push came from a **0.5 % uptick in Brent crude** and a slightly softer dollar index, giving the commodity-linked Loonie enough momentum to kiss 204.05 before the weekend close.
For households the math is stark: a C$15,000 tuition payment that converted at 199.50 last Saturday now costs an extra PKR 66,300, enough to cover a return ticket from Lahore to Toronto. Importers of Canadian pulses, paper and potash face a similar squeeze; the 2.0 % weekly jump adds roughly PKR 2.0 million to a C$100,000 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$2,452 against C$2,506 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 February are quoted at 206.50, implying another 1.3 % depreciation, while exporters of textiles and rice are being advised to price new orders in CAD rather than USD to avoid a double hit.
Technical charts show the next resistance at 205.00, the 61.8 % retracement of the November–January fall. A weekly close above that opens 209.40, last seen in March 2025. Support is layered at 201.50, then the psychological 200.00 mark that held throughout December.