The Pakistani rupee registered slight improvement against the US dollar in the open market on Tuesday, while the local currency also strengthened in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was being quoted at 283.75 for selling and 280.75 for buying purposes for customers.

At the end of trading, the currency closed at 283.70 for selling and 281.23 for buying purposes, according to data provided by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

During the previous week, the PKR gained 50 paisa for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 281.00 and 284.00, respectively.

In the inter-bank market, the rupee maintained its upward trajectory against the US dollar for the 10th consecutive session as it appreciated 0.06% on Tuesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local unit settled at 282.37 after an increase of Re0.16 against the greenback.

The market awaits the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board meeting scheduled on January 11, which will decide on the release of the next tranche of $700 million to Pakistan under its ongoing $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).

In a related development, the ECAP appreciated the State Bank of Pakistan’s efforts for stability of exchange rate and announcement of mechanism for calculation of open market exchange rates of select foreign currencies.

Zafar Paracha, General Secretary ECAP, hoped that this measure will bring further transparency and authenticity in the open currency market exchange rate of foreign currencies.

The SBP on Friday announced the mechanism to issue/publish end-of-the-day daily open market exchange rates published by ECAP for six major currencies, ie, USD dollar (USD), euro, pound sterling (GBP), Japanese yen (JPY), UAE dirham (AED) and Saudi riyal (SAR).