Rupee ends a tad stronger versus dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee closed slightly higher against the US dollar in the interbank market on Friday.

The rupee finished at 278.95 per dollar, up from its close at 278.97 in the previous session. In the open market, the rupee fell slightly, trading at 280.83 to the dollar, down from 280.82 on Thursday.

Dealers said the local currency recovered somewhat, despite a drop in foreign exchange reserves. The rupee saw a small increase as exporters’ dollar sales outpaced importers’ demand.

Pakistan’s foreign reserves held by the central bank fell by $76 million to $11.372 billion as of January 24 amid low financial inflows and high external debt repayments. The country’s forex reserves decreased by $137 million to $16.052 billion, and the reserves of commercial banks fell by $61 million to $4.680 billion.

According to the SBP’s monetary policy statement, while net financial inflows were modest during the first half of FY25, they are expected to improve moving forward, as a significant portion of official debt repayments has already been made. As a result, the improved current account outlook, coupled with anticipated financial inflows, is likely to elevate the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves above $13 billion by June 2025.