The Pakistani rupee kept its momentum against the US dollar in the open market on Tuesday, as the local currency also improved in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was being quoted at 287.25 for selling and 284.25 for buying purposes for customers.

At the end of trading, the currency closed at the same rates, according to data provided by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

On Monday, the currency had closed at 287.50 for selling and 284.50 for buying.

In the inter-bank market, the Pakistani rupee registered gains against the US dollar for the fourth successive session, as it appreciated 0.06% on Tuesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency settled at 285.79, an increase of Re0.18.

The gap between rates in the inter-bank and open markets is required to be less than 1.25% under one of the structural benchmarks set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In a key development, the IMF staff and Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement last week on the first review of the IMF Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) program to unlock the $700 million funding.

The agreement has raised hopes for the debt-ridden country to attract further inflows from its multilateral and bilateral partners.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s current account posted a deficit of $74 million in October 2023, according to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday.

On a yearly basis, the CAD was significantly lower, i.e. over 91%, than the $849 million recorded in the same month last year. The decline was attributed to improvement in exports and remittance inflows and a reduction in the import bill.