Karachi, Dec 13 – UK Pound (GBP) is changing hands at 374.30 Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in the open market this Saturday afternoon, its loftiest quote since mid-November and almost six rupees above last weekend’s 368.50 print.
Screens at Kharadar and Liberty flashed 374.55 just after noon, but profit-taking by exporters trimmed the quote to 374.30, still 0.45 paisa higher on the day and 1.6 % up on the week.
Between December 7 and today the UK Pound has climbed in six straight sessions, moving from 368.17 to 374.30, each day posting a higher high and a higher low. The move began quietly on December 7 when year-end demand from British universities collided with thin PKR liquidity; by Monday December 9 the pair had already printed 370.60. Tuesday brought the week’s biggest single-candle gain—1.12 rupees—after the State Bank’s reserves data showed a $258 million dip, reminding traders the rupee’s cushion is thinning. Wednesday and Thursday added another 2.1 rupees as Western-Union outlets across Lahore and Rawalpindi raised buying rates to capture remittance flows from Manchester, Birmingham and London. Friday’s final push came from a slightly softer dollar index and a 0.3 % uptick in UK wage data, giving Sterling enough momentum to kiss 374.55 before the weekend close.
For households the math is stark: a £15,000 tuition payment that converted at 368.17 last Saturday now costs an extra PKR 91,950, enough to cover a return ticket from Islamabad to Heathrow. Importers of British pharmaceuticals, paper and used cars face a similar squeeze; the 1.6 % weekly jump adds roughly PKR 1.6 million to a £100,000 consignment, a cost that will eventually reach pharmacy shelves. On the flip side, Pakistani students already in the UK are winners; remitting 500,000 Pakistani Rupee now yields £1,336 against £1,358 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 Sterling accounts because GBP 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 377.20, implying another 0.8 % depreciation, while exporters of textiles and leather goods are being advised to price new orders in GBP rather than USD to avoid a double hit.
Technical charts show the next resistance at 375.80, the 61.8 % retracement of the October–November fall. A weekly close above that opens 381.40, last seen in March 2024. Support is layered at 372.00, then the psychological 370.00 mark that held throughout November. Until the State Bank returns from year-end holidays and the Bank of England delivers its February statement, expect thin, two-way traffic inside that 370–376 band, with today’s 374.30 print likely to be quoted as the new baseline when markets reopen on Monday.