Rupee ends marginally higher against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee extended gains against the dollar for the second straight session on Wednesday.

The rupee ended at 280.97 per dollar in the interbank market, up from its close at 281.02 in the previous session.However, the rupee declined in the open market. It was trading at 282.9 against the dollar, compared with 282.87 on Monday.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) purchased $5.677 billion from the interbank market between June 2024 and January 2025 to boost its foreign exchange reserves and meet external debt repayments. The current account surplus and the dollar buying from the market kept the rupee stable.

Analysts expect the current account surplus, along with the potential disbursement of $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility and approval of a $1.3 billion new Resilience and Sustainability Facility in the second week of May, would lead to further buildup in foreign exchange reserves and induce much-needed stability in the forex market.

Analysts expect the current account to post a surplus of 0.5 per cent of GDP in FY25 on the back of robust workers’ remittances and strong export performance. A strong current account, together with IMF and commercial inflows, would take foreign exchange reserves to over $14 billion by June.