Dollar sets record at Rs203.86.

KARACHI -- The US dollar on Monday continued hitting another new peak by appreciating Rs1.51 against the local currency at 203.86 as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the government look helpless to arrest the rupee's sharp devaluation that has triggered skyrocketing inflation and eroded the purchasing power of consumers.

The rupee's devaluation is no more a concern for the currency market alone but the entire trade and industry including the services sector are shocked and clueless.

Currency dealers said the dollar was traded as high as Rs204.50 in the interbank market on Monday but closed at a lower price. However, the currency market rates differ from the ones provided by the SBP.

According to the central bank the dollar was closed at Rs203.86 but the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan reported the interbank rate at Rs204.

In the open market, the dollar was traded at Rs205, an increase of Rs2 on a day-on-day basis.

Since the inception of the new government, the dollar has appreciated by Rs21 and the trend shows it will keep moving upward. The finance minister did not come up with any strategy in the budget to...