Rupee unchanged

The rupee remained steady against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday due to less dollar buying from importers, dealers said. The rupee closed unchanged at 121.46/dollar.

In the open market, the local currency staged recovery to close at 124.50 to the dollar. It hit an all-time low of 125 in the previous session. Dealers said the currency market showed signs of stability on the back of improvement in the supply of the greenback. Investors were concerned about the recent credit rating decision of the Moody’s. It has changed the outlook of Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘Negative’ from ‘Stable’, while maintaining the country’s rating at “B3” (highly speculative). Key reasons cited by Moody’s in its review are deterioration in the balance of payments; low foreign exchange reserves; increasing debt burden / repayments and fiscal pressures.