Rupee falls against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee lost ground against the dollar on Monday due to an uptick in demand for the US currency from importers, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 278.63 per the dollar, slightly lower than its previous close of 278.5 in the interbank market. It dropped by 13 paisas or 0.05 per cent during the session.The local currency, according to dealers, slightly declined as importers purchased dollars to make their payments.

Also, importer demand could not be met by exporter inflows or remittances.In the open market, the rupee stayed almost flat versus the greenback. It was trading at 280.4 per dollar, compared with 280.39 on Friday.

Dealers expect that the rupee will remain at its current levels in the coming sessions because of normal dollar demand from importers and the expectation that the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility will be approved by the IMF’s board by the end of this month, as expressed by Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

According to dealers, the market’s abundant dollar liquidity and the positive outlook regarding the potential for a current account surplus in July have boosted market sentiment. The slight increase in foreign exchange reserves also supports the rupee.Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $75 million to $9.1 billion as of July 26.