Rupee strengthens

KARACHI: The rupee ended stronger on Friday after trading weaker in the past four sessions on the back of soft dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

In the interbank market, the rupee closed at 166.76 to the dollar, 16 paisas up from Thursday’s close of 166.92.

Dealers said rupee managed to post gains due to sluggish dollar demand from importers and some improvement in supply of greenback. “There were no big payments in the market therefore there was not much demand for dollars,” said a foreign exchange dealer.

The forex trading hours were shortened due to a complete lockdown from 12 noon to 3:30 pm in Sindh to prevent people from participating in congregational Friday prayers. The provincial government took this measure in efforts to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the forecasts for a slowdown in the country’s economic growth by international financial institutions and rating agencies undermined market sentiment. Market participants also expressed concerns over a sharp decline of $804 million in the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves. The reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell to $11.185 billion as of March 27 from $11.989 billion a week ago.