Rupee extends gains

The rupee extended gains for the second straight session on Thursday, helped by soft dollar demand from importers and positive triggers, dealers said.

The local currency closed at 154.66 against the greenback, compared with the Wednesday’s closing of 154.77 in the interbank market.

The rupee ended at 154.90 against the dollar in the open market. It had closed at 155 versus the greenback in the previous session.

Dealers said the local currency gained slightly during the session due to the lack of payments pressure.

Furthermore, positive sentiment due to inflows of foreign investment and higher remittances from Pakistanis abroad helped the local unit gain value during the last two days.

“The market believes that the rupee should strengthen further in the days to come,” a forex dealer said.

“We don’t see any downward pressure on the currency from import payments in the near-term,” he added. “We expect the rupee to trade at 154.50 and 154.55 in the coming sessions.”

Data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan showed that inflows of foreign direct investment into the country rose 68.3 percent to $1.340 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year.

Workers’ remittances increased 15 percent month-on-month to $2.097 billion in December 2019.