KARACHI: The Iranian Rial has recorded a sharp increase in value in Pakistan’s open currency market, with its price nearly doubling over the past several days following a surge in demand linked to geopolitical developments.
As per the sources of the currency market, there has been an active purchase of the Rial currency in Pakistan amid news of 60-day peace deal signed between Iran and the United States. The incident has revived the interest of traders and individuals who now want to speculate about this currency in the open market.
Malik Bostan, the Chairman of Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), has told a local news channel that many millions of rupees worth of Iranian currency has been bought recently. He added that a majority of the buyers comprises middle-class investors who can benefit from any movement in the market.
Based on the market information, the price of the Iranian Rial is believed to have shot up by about 100 percent in the open market within five days. Before that, 10 million Iranian Rials used to be exchanged for roughly 2,000 Pakistani rupees, but currently, the same amount is being sold for about 4,000 rupees.
According to financial experts, the reason behind this sudden rise is increased speculation after news emerged about possible negotiations between Tehran and Washington that may help stabilize the currency in the near future.
Officials from ECAP have suggested people do their foreign exchange transactions with authorized exchange companies only in order to stay safe from fraud.
The sudden movement in the Rial market has caused worries among some market participants, who fear that the speculative demand might cause instability if there is any quick change in the geopolitical scenario.
