Rupee gains for second day

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee ended marginally higher on Friday, extending gains to a second straight session, supported by improved supplies.

The rupee closed at 282.02 per dollar in the interbank market, compared with the previous close of 282.07.In the open market, the rupee edged lower, trading at 284.4 against the dollar, compared with 284.39 on Thursday.

Dealers reported a slight appreciation of the local currency, attributed to improved dollar availability, facilitated by remittances from Pakistanis working abroad ahead of Eidul Azha. In a positive development, Pakistan’s central bank’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $70 million to $11.516 billion as of May 23. However, the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country dropped by $12 million to $16.637 billion. Similarly, the reserves of commercial banks fell by $81 million to $5.121 billion.

The SBP managed to increase its reserves despite external debt repayments, thanks to a current account surplus. Inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and rollovers from friendly nations played a crucial role in bolstering forex reserves.

The SBP received the second tranche of $1.023 billion from the IMF under a $7 billion loan programme on May 13.The SBP purchased $5.9 billion from the interbank market between June 2024 and February 2025 to boost its reserves and meet external debt repayments. In February, the SBP bought $223 million worth of foreign currency from the market, up from $154 million in the previous month.