Rupee posts minor gains against dollar in interbank market

KARACHI: The rupee managed to post slight gains against the US dollar in the interbank market on Monday.

The rupee closed at 278.12 to the dollar, compared with 278.16 in the previous session.Analysts said that the rupee continued to rise owing to the optimism surrounding the International Monetary Fund’s loan programme for Pakistan.

Last week, the IMF announced that its board will meet on September 25 to review the $7 billion loan programme for Pakistan.Analysts expect the rupee is unlikely to remain stable in the coming months due to ample dollar liquidity supported by healthy remittances and subdued imports amid drop in global oil prices.

According to Tresmark analysis published on Saturday, it is critical to draw attention to a key trend this year: the notable rise in remittances, which have soared from about $2 billion to over $3 billion. This amazing achievement has largely gone unnoticed.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without shrinking the delta between the official and grey market rates. While this gap widened recently due to political uncertainty and scepticism around the IMF, the green light from the IMF should help stabilize this difference,” it said.