Rupee stays firm

KARACHI: The rupee ended stable against the dollar on Thursday due to matching demand and supply of the greenback, dealers said.

In the interbank market, the rupee closed at 152.83 against the dollar, unchanged from the previous close.

In the open market too, the rupee stayed flat at 153.20 versus the greenback.

Dealers said the rupee didn’t see any fluctuation today on the back of smooth supply of the greenback in the market.

“The local unit is expected to follow a range-bound trading pattern for the coming sessions. Any uptick in the dollar demand for import payments could easily be covered, owing to the inflows available in the market,” a foreign exchange trader said. “The next range should be 152.50 to 152.80 per dollar,” he added.

The rupee has been on a gaining trend since last month, amid weak demand for the dollars from importers and healthy inflows from remittances, Roshan Digital Account, and international financial institutions.

“We have seen a significant jump in remittances in March. Usually, remittances sent home from Pakistani citizens employed abroad tend to increase in the holy month of Ramazan and Eid-ul-Fitr festival,” another dealer said.

Strong remittances, healthy exports, and stable foreign exchange reserves are expected to support the rupee in the coming days, the dealer said.