KARACHI: The rupee made further improvement against the US dollar during the previous week and closed below 278 level after more than five months.
The local unit closed at 277.84, a gain of Re0.32 or 0.11% against 278.16 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The last time the rupee had closed below 278 level was on April 9, 2024.
The currency market is now factoring in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meeting that is scheduled to take Pakistan’s 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about $7 billion on its agenda on September 25.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $75 million in August 2024 compared to a deficit of $152 million in the same month of the previous fiscal year, the central bank data showed.
Foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP increased by $43 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $9.51 billion as of September 13. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.83 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.32 billion.
Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies, witnessed a decrease as it clocked in at 100.16 in August 2024, down from 101.50 in July 2024.
Open-market rates
In the open market, the PKR gained 10 paise for buying and 5 paise for selling against USD, closing at 279.44 and 280.70, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 88 paise for buying and 87 paise for selling, closing at 308.87 and 311.87, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 17 paise for buying and 15 paise for selling, closing at 75.45 and 76.20, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 16 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 73.75 and 74.46, respectively.
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THE RUPEE
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Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 277.84
Offer Close Rs. 278.04
Bid Open Rs. 278.16
Offer Open Rs. 278.36
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 279.44
Offer Close Rs. 280.70
Bid Open Rs. 279.54
Offer Open Rs. 280.75
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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