Rupee strengthens

KARACHI: The rupee closed marginally higher on Thursday, as the lack of demand and bank selling of the greenbacks in the market helped it notch up some gains, dealers said.

The local currency ended at 166.88 against the dollar, compared with the previous closing of 166.98 in the interbank currency market.

Meanwhile, in the open it, the rupee closed firmer at 167 against the dollar.

The local unit has been supported by positive sentiment after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to give Pakistan one-year debt relief owing to the country’s struggle against the pandemic.

The Group of 20 countries included Pakistan to the list of countries eligible for the suspension of debt service payments to the official bilateral creditors in the wake of the outbreak. The debt relief will start from May 1.

Dealers said the rupee is likely to strengthen further in the coming days due to expected rescheduling of debt repayments to the international lenders for the next two years.