KARACHI: The rupee breached the barrier of 108 versus the dollar on the money market on Saturday in the process of trading, dealers said. The rupee drifted lower against the greenback, losing 20 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 107.70 and Rs 108.00 respectively, they said. The rupee also lost 50 paisas in relation to the euro for buying and selling at Rs 112.50 and Rs 114.00 respectively, they said.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was last at 102.900, not far from Thursday's 14-year high of 103.560 but down 0.12 percent on the day. The Fed also signalled it was likely to hike rates three more times in 2017, up from the two increases forecast at the central bank's September meeting.
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Open Bid Rs 107.70
Open Offer Rs 108.00
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According to currency dealers, the trading of US dollar resumed on its overnight closing of Rs 107.80 and Rs 108.10 as its buying and selling rates, respectively. Following the lack of buyers' interest, the dollar registered surge and ended at Rs 107.90 on the buying counter. However, no change in the value of dollar took place as it sustained its overnight trend of Rs 108.10 on the selling counter, they added.
Moreover, the local currency remained strong and further appreciated on buying side while it depreciated on selling side versus the pound sterling. The British currency was bought and sold at Rs 132.20 and Rs 134.00 against the Friday's closing rates of Rs 132.80 and Rs 133.60, respectively, they said.
The dollar resumed trading at Rs 107 (buying) and Rs 107.50 (selling) against same last rate. It did not observe further change in evening session and closed at Rs 107 (buying) and Rs 107.50 (selling).
Pound Sterling opened at Rs 135 (buying) and Rs 135.10 (selling) against same last week's rate. It did not observe further change in the second session and closed at Rs 135 (buying) and Rs 135.10 (selling).