Rupee weakens

KARACHI: The rupee on Thursday witnessed a slight fall on an up uptick in dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

The local unit closed at 176.38 to a US dollar, compared with the previous close of 176.23 in the interbank market. It lost 15 paisas or 0.09 percent during the session.

“There were some import payments, which pulled the rupee lower. The inflows were not enough to meet the importer demand,” said a foreign exchange dealer.

In the open market, however, the rupee gained 50 paisas to end at 178.50 to the dollar.

“The local currency seems to be stable in coming days as market players are in a wait-and-see mode till the approval of the sixth review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility by the International Monetary Fund’s [IMF] executive board.”

The government is using every muscle to get the mini-budget and the State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Act 2021 passed from the parliament, which can pave the way of receiving $1 billion loan tranche from the country’s three-year $6 billion IMF programme.

The government has asked the IMF to delay the board meeting for reviewing the release of the next installment till the end of January.