Rupee strengthens

KARACHI: The rupee ended stronger on Monday on the back of sluggish dollar demand from importers, while healthy supplies also bolstered the domestic currency, dealers said.

The rupee closed at 166.87 against the dollar, 0.23 percent up from the previous closing of 167.26 in the interbank foreign exchange market. In the open market, the rupee remained flat at 167.20 against the dollar.

“There was a routine demand. The improvement in the supply of hard currency helped the rupee post modest gains during the sessions,” a forex dealer with a commercial bank said. Dealers suspected the rupee may have drawn support from inflows received from one of the multilateral lenders such as the World Bank or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, but receiving of the loan disbursement could not be confirmed.