Rupee edges lower

KARACHI: The rupee ended marginally weaker against the dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday closing at 177.98 to the dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of 177.88.

Dealers said the local unit continued to lose ground due to import payments and weak supplies.

Fell by 0.06 percent in the session, the rupee was predicted to be trading in a range-bound manner in coming days. “We expect the rupee to stay range-bound, depending on the demand and supply situation of the greenback in the market in days ahead,” said a foreign exchange dealer.

The domestic currency has been under pressure weighed down by a wide trade deficit amid significant rise in imports. It has declined by 11.48 percent so far this fiscal year.

The sentiment on the rupee remains bearish after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) forecast a higher current account deficit due to a sharp increase in commodity prices in a monetary policy statement on Tuesday. The SBP revised up its FY2022 current account deficit to 4 percent of gross domestic product from the previous 2.3 percent.