Rupee ends slightly lower against dollar in interbank market

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee closed marginally weaker against the US dollar in the interbank market on Monday.The rupee ended at 277.66 to the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of 277.63.

However, the rupee gained 10 paisas to close at 279.35 per dollar in the open market.Dealers said that the local unit experienced a slight decrease in the interbank market as a result of an uptick in the demand for dollars for imports and other payments.

According to dealers, the rupee appears to be trading within its current ranges since there is a sufficient supply of dollars, a steady increase in foreign exchange reserves, and strong remittances.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $106 million to $10.81 billion as of October 4.Remittances from Pakistanis working abroad increased by 29 per cent year-on-year to $2.8 billion in September. These inflows stood at $8.8 billion in July-September FY25, a 39 per cent increase from a year ago.

According to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves will reach $11 billion in the next two weeks, which will be sufficient to pay for imports for 2.5 months.