The Pakistani rupee registered slight gain against the US dollar in the open market on Friday, while the local currency also strengthened in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was being quoted at 284 for selling and 281 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 Thursday, it had settled at 284.25 for selling and 281.25 for buying purposes.

In the inter-bank market, the rupee continued its upward climb against the US dollar for the ninth successive session as it appreciated 0.09% on Friday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local unit settled at 282.53 after an increase of Re0.26 against the greenback.

Experts said that the stability in the currency comes on account of funding from multilateral including the World Bank approval of $350 million in financing for Pakistan to support fiscal and competitiveness reforms.

The market awaits the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board meeting scheduled on January 11, which will decide on the release of the next tranche of $700 million to Pakistan under its ongoing $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).

On the other hand, the country’s central-bank held foreign exchange reserves continued to decline. The reserves decreased by $136 million to $6.904 billion due to debt repayments during the week ended December 15, 2023.