Rupee falls for second straight session

KARACHI: The rupee ended lower for a second consecutive session in the interbank market on Tuesday due to an uptick in dollar demand for imports and other payments.

The rupee closed at 277.74 per dollar, compared with Monday’s close of 277.66.“There was a slight increase in dollar demand from importers to settle their bills and foreign companies seeking to repatriate profits and dividends to their home countries,” a currency dealer said.

“The dollar requirements exceeded inflows from export proceeds and remittances, putting pressure on the local unit,” the dealer added.In the open market, the rupee continued to gain ground against the dollar. It was trading at 279.25 to the dollar, up from 279.35 in the previous session.

Dealers anticipate that the rupee will trade in a range-bound manner in the coming sessions, as market participants are closely monitoring the two-day meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in Islamabad from October 15-16 (Tuesday to Wednesday).

According to the reports, the CHG conference will discuss the current cooperation in commerce, economy, environment and socio-cultural links and review the organisation’s performance.In addition, Pakistan and China signed 13 agreements on Monday, including a currency swap, to increase economic growth and productivity across several industries.