Rupee stable

The rupee ended steady against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday, dealers said. The rupee closed at 141.39 against the greenback, unchanged from the previous close.

Forex dealers said the rupee maintained current levels since mid-April. “The reason the currency is not weaker from the present levels is because dollar demand has slowed down, a dealer said. “The finalisation of the IMF programme will decide the rupee’s future path,” he added.

However, reports that the International Monetary Fund has attached tough conditions to the potential bailout package, fuelled concerns among investors.

In the open market, the rupee traded flat at 142 against the greenback.

Pakistan is likely to roll over $5 billion to $7 billion loan on account of deposits and commercial loans from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to make debt repayments more manageable during the IMF programme.

The country got deposits worth $7 billion from friendly countries during this fiscal year. The commercial lending by Chinese banks amounted to $5 billion to $5.5 billion.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped $201 million, or 1.24 percent, to $15.994 billion during the week ended April 19.

The forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan declined $219 million to $9.024 billion due to external debt servicing and other official payments.