Rupee unchanged

KARACHI: The rupee on Tuesday closed flat in the interbank market mostly because of a routine demand for dollar by importers, dealers said. The local currency closed at Rs155.44 to the dollar, unchanged from the Monday’s close.

In the open market, the rupee, however, gained 5 paisas further to end at 155.45 against the greenback. The currency was supported by increased exporter dollar conversions and expectations the current account deficit would improve further in July-October period and beyond.

“We expect the rupee/dollar parity at 155.40 and 155.50 and in the coming sessions amid weaker dollar demand and healthy inflows in the shape of remittances,” a dealer said. The reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose by $443 million $8.357 billion in the week that ended on November 1.

However, remittances from overseas Pakistani workers slipped 1.82 percent to $7.478 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year, the central bank’s data showed. Remittances stood at $7.617 billion in the same period of last year. The fall in the remittances was mainly due to a slowdown in the major source countries.