Rupee gains further

KARACHI: The rupee rose for the third straight session on Friday helped by sluggish dollar demand from importers, with ample foreign exchange reserves with the central bank, traders said.

The rupee closed at 166.35/dollar, 0.13 percent stronger than Thursday’s closing of 166.58 in the interbank currency market.

In the open market, the rupee closed at 166.55 against the dollar, compared with the previous closing of 166.80.

Traders said the domestic currency continued to gain strength due to lower import payments and export proceeds. Moreover, the level of forex reserves shows the State Bank of Pakistan has enough foreign currency reserves to pay import bill and meet debt servicing obligations.

During the week ended July 3, the SBP’s forex reserves stood at $12.042 billion, or 2.8 months of import cover, thanks to $1 billion loan disbursements received from China on June 30.

“We anticipate the rupee to remain stable next week with a high possibility of appreciating in between 165.50 and 166 levels because of weak dollar demand from importers and corporate clients,” a trader from a leading bank said.