Rupee strengthens

The rupee continued to trade stronger against the dollar in the interbank currency market on Friday and dealers said the local unit could strengthen further in the coming days.

The rupee closed at 154.56 against dollar, up from Thursday’s closing of 154.66.

In the open market, the rupee gained 10 paisas to end at 154.80 against the dollar. It had settled at 154.90 in the previous session.

“There was a dull demand for the dollar, which helped increase the rupee,” a dealer said. “Higher dollar inflows due to foreign investment and increased remittances have driven the rupee gains so far,” he added.

The rupee is expected to sustain gradual gains in the coming sessions. Positive sentiment due to inflows of foreign investment and higher remittances from Pakistanis abroad helped the local currency gain value during the last three days.

“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.”

Pakistan’s foreign direct investment jumped 68.3 percent to $1.340 billion in July-December of the fiscal year 2019/20. The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $11.586 billion as of January 10 from $11.503 a week ago.