Pakistan Finance Minister says rupee slide not due to economic fundamentals

The current downturn of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar was not due to economic fundamentals, but because of political turmoil, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Wednesday.

"The panic in the market is primarily due to political turmoil, which will subside in a few days," Ismail told Reuters, adding that he expected pressure on the rupee to fall in the next few days.

The rupee slid 3 per cent against the dollar by Tuesday's close and continued its downtrend when trading opened on Wednesday.

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