Rupee extends gains

KARACHI: The rupee rose further in lacklustre trading session on Friday, amid soft dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

In the interbank market, the rupee closed at 167.87 against the dollar, stronger than the previous day’s closing of 168.13.

The local unit ended at 168.30 versus the dollar in the open market. It had settled at 168.50 on Thursday. Dealers said the rupee continued to gain ground against the greenback due to the lack of major payment flows.

“The demand for the greenback remained subdued,” a foreign exchange dealer said.

“Some dollar selling by exporters also helped the rupee strengthen,”

Further, the weekly upbeat foreign exchange reserves data lifted trader sentiment. Dealers see the gain in the rupee to be short-lived.

“We can expect a reversal in the rupee’s current upward trend due to increased dollar demand as all businesses are going to resume from the next week,” another dealer said. “There are no foreign exchange inflows lined up in the coming days. Exports and remittances are also not supporting the local unit,” the dealer added.