Rupee weakens

The rupee weakened against the dollar in the interbank and open markets on Thursday, dealers said.

The rupee closed at 160.02 against the greenback, compared with Wednesday’s closing of 159.82 in the interbank market. In the open market, the local currency lost 10 paisas against the dollar and finished at 160.40, compared with 160.30 in the previous session.

Forex dealers said the rupee value declined due to dollar demand from importers. The currency is expected to trade at the current levels next week, a dealer said. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increased to $15.249 billion during the week ended July 12 from $14.259 billion in the previous week, the central bank said.

The forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stood at $8.001 billion, compared with $7.083 billion a week ago. The increase in the SBP’s forex reserves was due to the disbursement of the first tranche of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility.

The foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks also rose to $7.247 billion from $7.175 billion. The current account deficit narrowed 32 percent to $13.587 billion in the last fiscal year of 2018/19 from $19.897 billion in the previous year. The foreign exchange reserves are expected to rise further in this fiscal year on the back of dollar inflows from other international creditors.