The Pakistani rupee remained unchanged against the US dollar in the open market on Friday, while the local currency inched upward in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was being quoted at 284.50 for selling and 281.50 for buying purposes for customers, unchanged from the previous close.

At the end of trading, the currency closed at the same rates, according to data provided by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

In the inter-bank market, the rupee maintained its upward trend against the US dollar for the fourth successive session as it appreciated 0.09% on Friday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local unit settled at 283.26 after an increase of Re0.25 against the greenback.

Despite low foreign exchange reserves, the market remains confident amid an expected release of funds by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month, said experts.

In November, Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the first review of the country’s nine-month SBA.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $21 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $7.04 billion as of December 8, data released on Thursday showed.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $12.2 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.16 billion. SBP did not specify a reason for the increase in the reserves.