Rupee edges down

The rupee fell another five paisas against the dollar on Thursday, as the demand for the foreign currency increased for Ramazan-related imports, dealers said.

The rupee closed at Rs158.57 against the greenback from the previous day’s closing of Rs158.52 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The local unit was under pressure due to higher demand for the foreign currency during the day, the dealers said.

The higher dollar demand came from buyers importing commodities and edible oils. They said importers had held their dollar purchase on the expectations of significant cut in the policy rate. However, the SBP opted to cut only 75 basis points to bring policy rate at 12.50 percent. Currency experts; however, believed that the massive decline in international oil prices and slowdown in the outflow of hot money invested domestic debt market would help the rupee stay stable in the coming days.

The foreign investors take out $47 million by selling treasury bills on March 17. In contrast, the total outflow during March 01 to 17 was at $1.17 billion. The experts said the non-oil import would also decline in the coming days due to ease in the demand after the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, in the open market, the exchange rate remained unchanged. The dollar buying and selling was recorded at Rs157.50/Rs158.50, the same previous day’s closing.