Rupee gains

KARACHI: The rupee ended stronger on Monday aided by lower import payments and dollar selling by exporters, dealers said.

In the interbank market, the rupee closed at 157 against the dollar. On Friday, it ended at 157.14 against the greenback. The rupee; however, lost value in the open market trade. It closed at 157.50, compared with the previous closing of 157.30.

Dealers said the local unit managed to register nominal gains due to thin dollar demand from importers and corporates for payments. Moreover, improvement in the dollar liquidity also supported the rupee. “There were routine payments. Exporters started forward selling of the dollars, which helped the rupee gain grounds,” a foreign exchange dealer said. “Sentiment was boosted by the reports that the United Arab Emirates may rollover the $1 billion loan for another one year and Pakistan was among top ten apparel exporting countries to the United States in January,” he added.