Rupee slightly weakens in interbank market

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee marginally declined against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday.

The rupee closed at 280.23 per dollar, compared with the previous close of 280.21.The local unit was nearly flat in the open market, trading at 282.07, compared with 282.06 on Wednesday.

According to dealers, the currency market has sufficient dollar liquidity, bolstered by remittances from overseas Pakistani workers to their families during the holy month of Ramazan and ahead of the Eidul Fitr festival, alongside stable international oil prices. However, a controlled depreciation of 10-15 paisas weekly caps the rupee’s potential for major gains against the dollar.

Pakistan’s remittances from overseas workers surged 33 per cent to $24 billion during July-February FY25. Factors such as efforts to curtail illicit foreign exchange trading, an increase in the number of citizens working abroad, and economic stability supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme have all contributed to this rise in remittances. Furthermore, workers transfer funds more easily through Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA).

The country’s imports fell to $4.81 billion in February, an 8.52 per cent decrease from the previous month. However, the imports rose by 11.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in February.