The Pakistani rupee witnessed significant improvement against the US dollar in the open-market on Wednesday with dealers saying the greenback was available after its reported shortage last week.

The US dollar was being quoted in the range of 297-300 in the open-market, as compared to a range of 300-303 on Tuesday, down by Rs3.

Intra-day update: rupee largely stable against US dollar

Multiple currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said there is an adequate supply of USD in the market.

“The market has ample quantity of dollars available,” a currency dealer told Business Recorder.

Last week, the US dollar underwent a wild ride against the rupee in the open-market after the central bank allowed authorised dealers of foreign exchange to purchase US dollars from the inter-bank market for settlement of card-based cross-border transactions with International Payment Schemes (IPS).

“In view of the representations received from stakeholders, it has been decided to allow authorised dealers (banks) to purchase USD from interbank for settlement of card-bases cross border transactions with IPS,” a circular issued by the SBP said.

In reaction, the Pakistani rupee witnessed a significant appreciation against the US dollar in the open-market. However, the appreciation was short-lived after market forces kicked in, pushing the currency towards an equilibrium.