The Pakistani rupee edged lower against the US dollar in the open market on Friday, while the local currency remained stable in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was quoted at 280 for selling and 277 for buying purposes for customers.

At the end of trading, the currency closed at 280.50 for selling and 277.50 for buying, according to data provided by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

On Thursday, it had closed at 280 for selling and 277 for buying.

Meanwhile, the rupee remained largely stable against the greenback in the inter-bank market on Friday.

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).

The rupee saw one of the longest appreciation runs against the US dollar, which came after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced a list of “structural reforms” last month, targeting the Exchange Companies (ECs).

To date, the central bank suspended the authorisation of nine exchange companies for noncompliance of rules and regulations and serious violations. Meanwhile, a number of commercial banks have announced to establish wholly-owned ECs.

Apart from the central bank measures, the caretaker setup also ramped up efforts against smugglers and hoarders of currency and as a result, countrywide raids were reported with dozens of illegal currency exchanges barred from running operations and foreign currency worth millions confiscated.