Rupee firm

The rupee remained flat against the dollar in the interbank currency market on Friday, dealers said. It closed at 141.39 against the greenback, unchanged from Thursday’s close.

“There was no major variation in the rupee-dollar parity,” a forex dealer said. “The rupee traded in very narrow ranges of 139 and 140 against the dollar during the session amid insignificant dollar demand from importers.”

Dealers said investor optimism from contraction in the current account deficit growth was offset by dismal figures of the country’s foreign exchange reserves and foreign direct investment.

In the open market, the rupee lost 20 paisas to close at 142.20 against the greenback.

The current account deficit narrowed 29 percent to $9.588 billion during July-March 2018/19 from $13.589 billion a year ago, the State Bank of Pakistan reported on Thursday.

The foreign currency reserves held by the SBP fell $1.028 billion to $9.243 billion as of April 12 due to debt repayment of $1 billion against the Eurobond matured this week.

The country’s forex reserves dropped to $16.195 billion, compared with $17.228 billion in previous week.

The forex reserves of commercial banks stood at $6.952 billion, compared with $6.956 billion in preceding week.

Pakistan’s foreign direct investment plunged 51.4 percent to $1.273 billion in the nine months of this fiscal year 2018/19 from $2.621 billion a year earlier.