KARACHI: The rupee registered a minor gain of 0.7% against the US dollar during the previous week, stabilising around the 218 level in the inter-bank market after a lengthy winning streak saw it gain nearly 10% since the last week of September.

Its 13-session appreciation run ended on Wednesday after which it closed the week with back-to-back marginal losses, settling at 218.43 against the US dollar.

Its appreciation run came on the back of sentimentwith the return of Ishaq Dar at the helm of the finance ministry, together with a narrower trade deficit, and expectations of further inflows from multilateral institutions.

At the end of the week, it was also reported that Dar will seek rescheduling of some $27 billion worth of non-Paris Club debt largely owed to China, but will not pursue haircuts as part of any restructuring.

Dar ruled out the possibility of a default on Pakistan’s debt, an extension of the maturity date on bonds due in December, or renegotiation of Pakistan’s current International Monetary Fund programme.

Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued to decline, clocking in at an alarming level of $7.6 billion as of October 7, 2022, according to data released during the week.

Going forward, analysts expect the rupee to remain range-bound with material dollar inflows setting the course for the currency.

Open-market rates

In the open market, the PKR lost 4 rupees for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 224 and 226, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 3 rupees for both buying and selling, closing at 222 and 224, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost one rupee for both buying and selling, closing at 62 and 62.50, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 1.80 rupees for both buying and selling closing, at 60.30 and 60.80, respectively.

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THE RUPEE

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Weekly Interbank market rates for dollar

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Bid Close Rs. 218.50

Offer Close Rs. 219.50

Bid Open Rs. 219.90

Offer Open Rs. 220.90

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Weekly Open market rates for dollar

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Bid Close Rs. 224.00

Offer Close Rs. 226.00

Bid Open Rs. 220.00

Offer Open Rs. 222.00

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Copyright Business Recorder, 2022