The Pakistani rupee weakened nearly 1.6% against the US dollar in the open-market on Thursday, while dealers said foreign currency remained available at counters.

The US dollar was being quoted in the range of 302-305 in the open-market, as compared to a range of 297-300 on Tuesday, a jump of Rs5.

The PKR also weakened against the USD in the inter-bank market and was trading over the 287 level against the greenback.

However, multiple currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said there is an ample supply of USD in the market.

Experts said the recent demand for US dollar is not matching supply, creating pressure on the local currency.

“After the central bank allowed banks to buy dollars from interbank market, there is a surge in demand for dollars in the inter-bank,” said Saad Khan, Head of Research at IGI Securities, told Business Recorder.

“The rupee has weakened in the inter-bank, which is being reflected in the open-market,” he said.

Last week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) allowed banks to purchase US dollars from interbank for settlement of card-based cross border truncations with International Payment Schemes (IPS) to reduce the pressure in the open currency market.

Meanwhile, the expert on Thursday said that large debt payments to the tune of $3-4 billion will be made in the coming days, which will keep the PKR under stress.

“The market is also watching developments on the IMF front,” he added.