Daily Times

The Rupee continued making slight gains against the US dollar in the interbank market for the 11th week in a row and improved by Rs0.31, as an increase in foreign currency inflows compared to its demand kept supporting the local currency.

According to details, the rupee opened at 279.90 against the greenback in the interbank market on Monday last and closed at 279.59 on Friday, registering a rise of 0.11 percent week-on-week. Overall, the local unit has improved by Rs7.44 during the previous ten weeks. Out of the last 32 sessions, the rupee has surged in 29 sessions while it remained unchanged in one session.

The rupee improved by Rs8.70 during the current fiscal year 2023-24 and Rs2.27 in the current year. The rupee gained Rs3.31 against the US dollar in December, while it shed Rs3.69 against the US dollar in November after gaining Rs6.26 (+2.23 percent) against the greenback in the month of October. The currency surged more than 6 percent in September. The rupee has cumulatively surged by Rs27.51 (9.84 percent) in the past four and a half months compared to the all-time low of Rs307.10 per dollar touched in the first week of September 2023.

Pakistani currency has hit over a three-month high against the US dollar in the inter-bank market. The latest uptick in the currency came after Pakistan reported that the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $243 million (3 percent) to a six-month high at $8.27 billion, indicating that the supply of the greenback was on the rise.

However, the local unit lost traction against the greenback in the open market and closed the week in the range of Rs281.17 per dollar, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan. With this, the difference between rupee-dollar exchange rates in the inter-bank and open markets widened to Rs1.58 (0.56 percent). The gap remained well below the ceiling of 1.25 percent recommended by the IMF.