Rupee inches up

KARACHI: The rupee edged higher against the dollar on Thursday due to tepid dollar demand from importers for payments, dealers said.

The rupee closed at 174.98 per dollar, compared with its previous close of 175.05 in the interbank market.

Pak rupee ended lower at 178 to the dollar in the open market. It had closed at 177.50 in the previous session.

The Dealers said the local unit stayed stable as the dollar buying from importers and firms remained on lower side.

“Today, the rupee didn't see any fluctuations and remained flat as importers had already covered their payments yesterday amid closure of the New York foreign exchange market," said a currency dealer.

He added that the dealers are expecting the rupee to trade around the current levels in the coming sessions. The rupee is expected to appreciate if IMF’s executive board approves Pakistan's loan request of Jan 12.

Last week, Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete sixth review under the Extended Fund Facility. However, receiving of $1 billion tranche is linked with implementation of IMF’s prior conditions.

The US financial markets remained closed on Thursday on account of Thanksgiving celebration.