Rupee remains flat

Rupee closed firmer against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday, dealers said. It remained unchanged at 141.39 against the greenback for the fourth consecutive day. The currency also traded flat at 142 to the dollar in the open market.

Dealers said the rupee maintained its present levels due to routine dollar demand from importers and the corporate sector.

The State Bank of Pakistan wants to keep the rupee stable at the current levels, they added. Meanwhile, data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan showed that the current account deficit narrowed 29 percent to $9.588 billion during July-March 2018/19 from $13.589 billion a year ago.

However, Pakistan’s foreign direct investment plunged 51.4 percent to $1.273 billion in the nine months of this fiscal year 2018/19 from $2.621 billion a year earlier. The foreign currency reserves held by the SBP fell $1.028 billion to $9.243 billion as of April 12 due to debt repayment of $1 billion against the Eurobond matured this week.

The country’s forex reserves dropped to $16.195 billion, compared with $17.228 billion in previous week, with commercial banks’ reserves at at $6.952 billion, compared with $6.956 billion in the preceding week.