KARACHI: Rupee decreased marginally against the US dollar during the previous week as it lost Re0.05 or 0.2% in the inter-bank market.
The local unit closed at 278.47, against 278.42 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The domestic currency has been around 277-278 against the dollar for the last many weeks.
In a key development, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP decreased by $228 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $11.85 billion as of December 20. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $16.37 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $4.52 billion.
The central bank said the decline in the forex reserves was driven by external debt repayments.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s headline inflation is expected to stay within the 4-5% range in December, the Finance Division projected during the previous week. The ministry highlighted that the “hard-earned” economic stability is expected to persist on the back of remittances and export inflows with decent imports.
Open-market rates
In the open market, the PKR lost 31 paise for buying and 13 paise for selling against USD, closing at 277.81 and 279.51, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 72 paise for buying and 82 paise for selling, closing at 288.07 and 290.12, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 3 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 75.56 and 76.05, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 5 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 73.85 and 74.35, respectively.
=========================================
THE RUPEE
=========================================
Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
=========================================
Bid Close Rs. 278.47
Offer Close Rs. 278.67
Bid Open Rs. 278.42
Offer Open Rs. 278.62
=========================================
Weekly open-market rates for dollar
=========================================
Bid Close Rs. 277.81
Offer Close Rs. 279.51
Bid Open Rs. 277.50
Offer Open Rs. 279.38
=========================================
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments