Rupee moves up

The Pakistani rupee gained 18 paisa against the dollar on Thursday owing to continued inflow of home remittances and ease in demand for import payments, dealers said.

Domestic currency closed at Rs159.42 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs159.60 in the interbank foreign exchange market, they informed. This was the fourth consecutive gain for the rupee, as the local unit has appreciated by Rs1.17 against the greenback since the start of the current week.

Dealers continued to attribute this upward trend to the incoming remittances on account of Eidul Azha. The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs159.60 and Rs159.68. Intraday high was recorded at Rs159.60 against the dollar, while intraday low was at Rs159.35 per dollar during the day. According to currency experts, despite the inflows, pressure remained persistent on the local unit owing to the repayment of scheduled foreign debts.

The exchange rate in the open market also witnessed appreciation in the rupee value. Buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs158.60/Rs159.60 from previous day’s closing of Rs159.00/Rs160.00 in the cash ready market.

Official reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan increased $155 million during the week ended on July 26, whereas the SBP reserves had fallen $389 million due to external debt servicing and other official payments during the week ended July 19.