Rupee likely to remain stable

The rupee is likely to maintain the current trend against the dollar next week in the wake of soft dollar demand from importers, analysts said on Saturday.

The rupee managed to hover at the levels of 110.54/110.55/dollar during the outgoing week.

The local unit looks to remain in narrow range of 110.52/110.55 in the coming week, an analyst said.

The currency market witnessed lethargic activity during most of the outgoing week.

Market participants were unwilling to take fresh positions due to dull sentiments and normal demand for the foreign exchange.

In the open market, the rupee continued to post gains aided by lower dollar demand. The rupee moved in the range of 111.40/111.60 and 111.70/112, respectively for buying and selling.

"The demand for the foreign currency appears to stay low in the sessions to come," said Zafar Paracha, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan.

"The rupee could track 10 to 20 paisa gains against the greenback in the coming week," he added.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped to $18.968 billion during the week ended February 9 from $19.354 billion a week ago.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell $277 million to $12.834 billion, owing to external debt servicing and other official payments.

The foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks increased to $6.134 billion as compared to $6.122 billion during the previous week.