Rupee falls against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee maintained its downward trend for the third consecutive session on Wednesday.

According to dealers, this was on the back of increased dollar demand from importers ahead of the FY2025 budget.

The local unit closed at 278.60 per dollar in the interbank market, compared with 278.49 in the previous session. It decreased by 11 paisas or 0.04 per cent during the session.

Analysts expect ambitious fiscal targets to be set as the government looks to strengthen the case for a new bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Since last week, there has been a continued increase in demand for US dollars, and importers purchased dollars to make their payments before the budget,” a foreign exchange trader said.

“The market will watch what economic targets and policies set for the next fiscal year for cues on the rupee’s direction in the coming days,” he added.In the open market, the rupee, however, gained little ground against the dollar. It was trading at 280.12 to the dollar, compared with 280.12 on Tuesday.

During the unveiling of the Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24 on June 11, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that Pakistan’s “foreign exchange reserves now amount to over $9 billion, covering two months’ worth of imports”.