Rupee Time Machine
What Rs 10,000 from 2015 is worth today
Put Rs 10,000 in US stocks at the end of 2015, and by 29 Sep 2026 it was worth Rs 1.2 lakh. Over the same years prices rose ×3.02: anything that ended below Rs 30,165 lost buying power.
Prices rose ×3.02 since 2015. Bars left of the dashed line fell behind prices.
- US stocks (S&P 500), in rupeesRs 1.2 lakh ×11.9stocks ×4.51 in dollars, then the dollar ×2.64 in rupees
- GoldRs 1 lakh ×10.5
- PSX (KSE-100)Rs 51,682 ×5.17
- Savings (policy rate, before tax)Rs 30,890 ×3.09
- US dollars, as cashRs 26,425 ×2.64
- Plot, Lahore (asking prices)Rs 23,867 ×2.39
- Cash at homeRs 10,000 ×1.00
PSX, SBP, PBS via IMF, sarafa association, LBMA, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Zameen. Markets to 29 Sep 2026; CPI to Aug 2026. KSE-100 includes dividends before tax. Past returns don’t predict future ones.
| Where it went | Worth now | Growth | After inflation, in 2015 rupees |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stocks (S&P 500), in rupees | Rs 1.2 lakh | ×11.9 | Rs 39,499 |
| Gold | Rs 1 lakh | ×10.5 | Rs 34,771 |
| PSX (KSE-100) | Rs 51,682 | ×5.17 | Rs 17,133 |
| Savings (policy rate, before tax) | Rs 30,890 | ×3.09 | Rs 10,241 |
| US dollars, as cash | Rs 26,425 | ×2.64 | Rs 8,760 |
| Plot, Lahore (asking prices) | Rs 23,867 | ×2.39 | Rs 7,912 |
| Cash at home | Rs 10,000 | ×1.00 | Rs 3,315 |
Rs 10,000 from other years
How we got these numbers
- PSX: the KSE-100, a total-return index (cash dividends added back, before tax).
- Gold: the Karachi sarafa rate per tola where one is recorded, otherwise the London (LBMA) price × the dollar rate.
- Savings: the State Bank policy rate, averaged over each year and compounded, before tax.
- US stocks: the S&P 500 with dividends, converted at the interbank dollar rate. Pakistanis couldn't freely buy these, so treat it as a benchmark.
- Plot: Zameen's Lahore index of asking prices. Not sale prices, and no rent included.
- Prices: the consumer price index from PBS via the IMF, to Aug 2026.
Full series, sources and caveats: data and methods.
Questions
- Which did better in Pakistan since 2015: gold, the PSX or the dollar?
- From the end of 2015 to 29 Sep 2026, gold grew ×10.5, the PSX (KSE-100, with dividends) ×5.17 and the US dollar ×2.64 in rupees, while prices rose ×3.02. The ranking depends on the start year: from 2010 the PSX beat gold; from 2015 gold beat the PSX.
- Does the KSE-100 figure include dividends?
- Yes. The KSE-100 is a total-return index: PSX adds cash dividends back into it, before withholding tax. A real investor received slightly less after tax, roughly one percentage point a year.
- What does "savings" mean here?
- The State Bank policy rate, averaged over each calendar year and compounded, before tax. It is a proxy for T-bills and money-market funds. Most bank savings accounts paid less.
- Is this investment advice?
- No. stox is an education service. These are historical numbers with their sources. Past returns do not predict future ones.