How this site's figures are produced

This page explains where the dollar rates on this site come from, how they are checked, and what this site refuses to print. The interbank rate is read from the State Bank of Pakistan's own published block. The open-market rate is a counter quote from forex.com.pk. The gap is the difference between them.

Why the interbank rate and the open-market rate are two different figures

The interbank rate is the rate banks use between themselves. It is published by the State Bank of Pakistan as the M2M revaluation rate, with a weighted-average interbank bid and offer. It is the rate a bank dealing room uses, not the rate a customer gets at a branch counter.

The open-market rate is the dollar buying and selling price quoted by money changers and exchange companies. It is a counter quote, typed by hand, and varies by dealer. The two rates exist because the interbank market and the open market serve different customers with different costs.

Where each rate is read and how a frozen or contradicting source is caught

The interbank rate on this site is read from the State Bank of Pakistan's own published block: the M2M revaluation rate, with the weighted-average interbank bid and offer, each with the date it belongs to. The open-market rate is read from forex.com.pk, which quotes the Pakistani money-changer market.

A reading is refused if the interbank rate leaves 200 to 400 rupees, if the M2M rate falls outside the bid-offer range, if the open-market selling price is below the buying price, if the gap leaves a band of minus one to plus fifteen per cent, or if the State Bank date is more than four days old. When a reading is refused, the previous one stays on the page.

Why an independent mid-market rate is used only as a check

A mid-market rate from a third, independent provider is used only to confirm the State Bank figure is current. It is not shown as a price. The check exists because the State Bank's page can be slow to update, and a stale interbank rate would make the gap wrong.

The independent rate is compared with the State Bank's figure. If it differs by more than one and a half per cent, the reading is refused. This keeps the page from showing a rate that has moved sharply but not yet been confirmed by the State Bank.

What this site refuses to print: forecasts, a single blended 'dollar rate', invented history

This site does not make a forecast. It prints the rates as read, with the date each belongs to. It does not blend the interbank and open-market rates into a single 'dollar rate' because doing so would hide the gap that is the point of the page.

Neither source publishes a history, so the day-by-day table is this site's own record of the figures it has read, starting from the first day on record. The record is not invented; it is built from each day's published figures.