Rupee rises for fourth day

KARACHI: The rupee extended gains for a fourth straight session on Friday mostly on account of subdued dollar demand from importers for payments, dealers said.

The local currency closed at 154.59 per dollar, compared with the previous close of 155.01 in the interbank market. It rose 0.27 percent during the session.

Analysts said positive sentiment stemmed from the loan approval from the World Bank, and hiring of banks to arrange investor calls head of a three-tranche dollar bond sale from Pakistan supported the local unit.

In the open market, the rupee closed at 155.20 against the greenback, compared with 155.70 on Thursday.

Dealers said the rupee breached the 155 level and appreciated to 154 on lower importer demand and expectations of further increase in dollar inflows in days ahead. The domestic currency strengthened 0.88 percent week-on-week and 2.22 percent month-on-month.