KARACHI - Despite receiving huge amount of remittances in the first quarter of current financial year from the overseas Pakistanis, the rupee hit historic-low against the US dollar as the exchange rate further widened to 82.70 on Wednesday in the open market operations. In open market dealings, the rupee continued to trade under severe demand pressure and lost more grounds against US dollar, falling freely to Rs 82.70 thus posted gain of Rs1aginst the US dollar during different sessions of forex trading on Wednesday. He said that some of the bankers even quoted Rs. 80.95 but according to market sources, no deal was materialized at this quote. It was the third consecutive day when rupee traded under severe pressure as consistent demand from importers and oil companies and short supply to cover it up once again stood as the basic factor for hurting rupee's position further on Wednesday. According to Syed Nabeel Iqbal, Research Analyst & Manager Marketing at KKI (Pvt.) Ltd, the demand which has been the major reason behind rupee's fall continued to come in high volumes on Wednesday as well physical shortage of dollars further dented rupee's position. Some of the dealers were quoting even higher rates but market settled between a price range of Rs. 82.50 and Rs. 82.70. The physical intervention by State Bank in the form of providing dollars to exchange companies also remained slow which added more fuel to the overall supply position of the market, he said. The market sources are of the opinion that in case the same supply position persists, rupee will find itself under pressure in the coming sessions as well. There were some news of SBP intervention but the market sources did not confirm it. Under the present market situation, rupee is vulnerable to more falls but there are chances of a possible rebound if supply gets better through SBP intervention or arrival of export proceeds into the system. As a matter of fact, dollar demand has been fairly high since last many days but SBP's intervention on Wednesday last week had provided some relief and helped in increasing overall supply in the market and hence supported the currency demand. The demand is coming basically from oil companies as well the importers. It was not the demand which came down resulting in some increase and stability in the market but in fact, it was better supply which helped to ease off some pressure from rupee. But as soon as these dollars are sold, pressure has once again arrested the national currency, he added. According to the bankers, physical shortage of dollars is the key factor which needs to be fixed on a permanent basis. The State bank is and has been taking necessary steps to control this free fall of rupee but it is already finding it difficult due to consistent pressure on country's foreign exchange reserves, foreign exchange inflows almost on a halt and no immediate financial assistance coming in. The biggest threat to the market is the supply which can only be managed if there is a constant inflow on account of remittances, foreign investment, financial assistance and exports. But overall, only the remittances are showing a healthy trend while all other elements are posing serious challenge to the economic managers to manage the entire situation under the present circumstances. The market is expecting good news from President's visit to China and hence this visit has become one of the most crucial moves on the diplomatic front by Pakistan. Further the market sentiments are still better as lots depends upon the negotiations between Pakistan and Chinese supreme authorities especially at the economic front while positive sentiments prevail on the basis of China being one of our most reliable friends. Also, Mr. Shaukat Tareen and his delegation's negotiations with international donor agencies is also giving good hopes while different announcements by Friends of Pakistan for financial assistance for us also hold the key. Overall, the sentiments will get better once any progress is made in the near term.