Rupee snaps 3-day winning streak as demand strengthens dollar

KARACHI: Rupee snapped its three-day rally Friday as dollar demand for import payments mounted pressure on the local currency.

The rupee closed at 221.64 after a downtick of Rs0.22 or 0.1% versus the greenback in the interbank market, according to the numbers released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as compared to the previous close of 221.42.

Analysts see the rupee to be a bit under pressure in the days to come, while it is expected to rally around the visit of the Saudi crown prince and the arrival of inflows.

Foreign exchange reserves with the SBP fell $956 million to $7.96 billion as of November 4, 2022.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.72 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.76 billion after a reduction of $2 million.

“During the week ended on November 4, 2022, SBP’s reserves decreased by $956 million to $7,957.0 million due to external debt servicing,” said the SBP in a statement.

This leaves the country with an import cover for 1.16 months only.