Rupee stable

The rupee ended almost flat in a dull trade on Monday amid thin dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

In the interbank market, the rupee closed at 154.59 to the dollar, marginally firmer than previous close of 154.56. “It was a dull day but we witnessed some general importer demand,” a dealer said.

“The rupee was trading at 154.57 and 154.61 against the dollar in TOM (one-day forward) market,” he added. U.S. bonds and stock markets were closed on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Dealers said the local unit is expected to remain stable in the coming days. However, the outcome of the FATF’s meetings could decide the future course of the rupee. “If a positive news coming out from the FATF’s front, it will be positive for the rupee,” another dealer said.

Pakistani delegation will start holding formal talks with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) from Tuesday to get out of the global money laundering watchdog’s ‘grey list’.

There is possibility that voting might be done to consider the country’s exit from the ‘grey list’. If Pakistan doesn’t come out of the ‘grey list’, it’s likely to achieve a ‘largely-compliant’ rating from the FATF on implementation of 27 recommendations given in its action plan that can help it get more time from the FATF full complete compliance.