Rupee higher

The rupee closed higher on Monday due to positive sentiment following the announcement of $20 billion investment deals by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for Pakistan, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 138.72/dollar, compared with previous close of $138.83. In the open market, the rupee traded at 138.90 against the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of 139.10.

Dealers said the ongoing visit of the Saudi crown prince was a positive trigger, as it would bring investment and economic prosperity into the country.

The market reacted a bit positively to this development. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced Saudi investments in oil refining, petrochemicals, and other sectors of Pakistan.

The first phase of investment of $20 billion in Pakistan has been completed, while

more investments would be made in the future.

Pakistan is in dire need of foreign inflows amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose slightly to $14.895 billion during the week ended February 8, compared with $14.885 billion in the previous week.

The reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $13 million to $8.205 billion.