Rupee gains

KARACHI: The rupee posted more gains against the dollar in the interbank currency market on Monday, dealers said. The rupee closed at 162.38/dollar, compared with the previous closing of 162.49. In the open market, the local currency also ended stronger at 162.70 against the dollar. It had settled at 163 versus the greenback on Friday.

Dealers said the local currency continued to appreciate on the back of soft dollar demand from importers, the lack of import payments’ pressure and strong inflows from remittances.

The rupee is likely to keep gaining in the coming sessions, as there are no big import payments, especially for oil, lined up next week in the market, dealers said. Export proceeds are also going strong, a forex dealer said.

However, the resumption of the International Monetary Fund Programme, the outcome of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting on Pakistan’s status and fall in the foreign exchange reserves highlight risks to the rupee’s outlook in the mid- to long-term. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $19.015 billion during the week ended October 9 from $19.351 billion.

The central bank’s forex reserves dropped to $11.798 billion from $12.154 billion, amid foreign debt repayments.