The Pakistani rupee closed weaker against the US dollar in the open market for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, while the local currency also ended marginally lower in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was quoted at 281.5 for selling and 278.5 for buying purposes for customers.

However, at the end of trading, the currency closed at 282 for selling and 279 for buying, according to data provided by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

On Tuesday, the local unit had closed at 281.5 for selling and 278.5 for buying purposes.

In the four sessions till today, the rupee has weakened by Rs2 for both buying and selling in the open market.

Meanwhile, the rupee also sustained losses in the inter-bank market as it depreciated 0.16% on Wednesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency settled at 279.88 against the greenback, with a decrease of Re0.45.

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).

In a recent development, it was reported that the IMF mission, led by Nathan Porter, will visit Pakistan on November 02 to discuss the first review of the country’s current $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA).

The South Asian nation is trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a caretaker government in the wake of an IMF loan programme, approved in July, that helped Pakistan avert a sovereign debt default.

Under the programme, Pakistan received $1.2 billion from the Washington-based lender as the first tranche in July.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has asked all ministries and divisions to be ready for the first review of the IMF Standby Arrangement (SBA) to ensure successful completion of the review.