Rupee continues to rise against dollar for 13th straight session

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee continued to recover against the US dollar for the 13th consecutive session in the interbank market Tuesday.

The rupee closed at Rs217.79, appreciating by 0.18 or 0.08% from yesterday’s close of Rs217.97, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has given more confidence to the market by assuring that the economic management will improve, this has led to the continuous upward trend of the rupee, a capital market expert Saad Ali told The News.

It is pertinent to mention here that the rupee has continued to appreciate against the US dollar despite a decline in the foreign exchange reserves and Moody's downgrading of the nation's sovereign credit rating.

The expert said that the rupee's appreciation is also in line with the authorities cracking down on speculative activities in the currency market.

"There is an expectation of dollar inflows in the next one to two months which has also improved market sentiments," he added.

A day earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) leadership had clarified to analysts in its post-monetary policy committee meeting that it was initially due to the market’s sentimental reaction to the change of finance minister that the local currency was making gains against the dollar.

However, analysts were also told that several other factors supported the strengthening of the local unit against the US dollar, which included improvement in inflows in form of remittances and exports; a crackdown on speculators; and a declining gap between interbank and KERB.