Rupee stays flat

KARACHI: The rupee on Thursday ended steady against the dollar, helped by an equilibrium of demand and supply of the US currency, dealers said.

In the interbank market, the local unit closed at 176.98 to the dollar, unchanged from the previous close. However, Pakistani currency gained 50 paisas to end at 179 versus the greenback in the open market.

Dealers said the balance in the demand and the supply of the greenback helped the local unit to remain stable during the session.

“Inflows from the exporters and remittances were sufficient to meet the appetite for the greenback from importers,” said a currency dealer.

“The bullish sentiment has not changed for the rupee, but the market is constrained by fears of a delay in the approval of the sixth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $6 billion loan programme from its executive board as the passage of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) amendment bill from the upper house of parliament [Senate] is still awaited,” he added.

The IMF postponed the meeting scheduled on January 28 to approve the country’s sixth economic review under the Extended Fund Facility at the request of Pakistan. The meeting of the IMF board will now be held on February 2.