Rupee recovers

KARACHI: The rupee recouped two-day losses to close slightly higher on Wednesday, as demand for the greenback waned, dealers said.

The rupee closed at 160.29 per dollar, up marginally 0.22 percent from Tuesday’s close of 160.33 in the interbank market.

The rupee ended at 160.40 against the dollar, compared with the previous close of 160.45 in the open market trade.

“There was routine dollar demand from importers through much of the day. Smooth supplies also supported the local unit,” a foreign exchange dealer said.

Dealers said the outlook for the rupee was bullish, with the dollar demand expected to remain subdued due to lower imports payments.

“We anticipate the rupee to remain stable with a little appreciation against the dollar in the coming sessions.”

The rupee parity appreciated by 1.4 percent against the dollar in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, as compared to a 2.4 percent increase witnessed in the same period of the last year, the SBP’s first quarterly report on the state of the economy for fiscal year 2020-21 said.

The rupee appreciation in July-September FY2021 was supported by the sizable improvement in the current account balance and a trend reversal in commercial banks’ trade nostro balances abroad from June 2020 onwards, it added.