Rupee ends flat

KARACHI: The rupee stayed flat against the dollar on Friday on the back of routine dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

The local currency ended at 152.81 against the dollar, hardly changed from Thursday’s closing of 152.83 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

In the open market, the rupee gained 20 paisas to close at 153/dollar.

“There was insignificant importers’ dollar demand in the market. The trading activity remained dull and the rupee moved in a narrow range of 152.80 to 152.90 against the dollar during the session,” a foreign exchange dealer said.

Dealers said they expected the sentiment for the domestic currency to remain positive due to the sound position of the foreign exchange reserves.

“We don’t see any downside pressure on the rupee in the near-term because of the hefty increase in Pakistan’s forex reserves, amid continued official and private inflows,” another dealer said.

The country’s forex reserves reached a five-higher high of $23.22 billion as of April 9; following $2.5 billion worth of inflows from the issuance of Eurobonds in the international capital markets.