Rupee gains

The rupee gained two paisas against dollar on Tuesday owing to new measures announced by the central bank to stop trade-based money laundering and terror financing. The rupee ended Rs156.05 to the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs156.07 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency dealers said the SBP issued new framework to prevent trade-based money laundering and terror financing by further tightening rules for foreign exchange related transactions.

The dealers said the reports of an expected favourable outcome at the Financial Action Task Force meeting also helped the rupee make some gains. The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs156.05 and Rs156.07. The market recorded a day high of Rs156.10 and a low of Rs156.00 against greenback.

Currency experts said the measures taken by the government to reduce import bill were yielding results. They said that dollar demand from corporate sector was coming down as foreign companies operating in the country were showing optimism in Pakistan’s economy.

Profit repatriation by foreign companies fell to $214.7 million during July-August 2019 as compared with $240.5 million in the same period of the last year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

The exchange rates in open market remained unchanged. The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs155.70/Rs156.20, the same as the previous day’s level, in the cash ready market.