KARACHI: Rupee recorded marginal decline against the US dollar during the previous week as it depreciated Re0.13 or 0.05% in the inter-bank market.
The local unit closed at 278.71, against 278.58 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The currency closed negative in the first four sessions of the week to reach 278.86 against the US dollar by Thursday. However, Friday’s session helped the Pakistani rupee trim some losses.
In a key development, Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $582 million in December 2024, a massive jump of 109% when compared with the surplus of $279 million in the same month of the previous year, data released by the SBP showed.
Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies, increased to 103.7 in December 2024, up from 103.02 (revised) in November 2024.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed the rollover of its two deposits of $1 billion each, the central bank informed.
Net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan grew 20% during the first half of the ongoing fiscal year (1HFY25), clocking in at $1.329 billion, revealed the central bank’s data.
Foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP increased by $30 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $11.72 billion as of January 10. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $16.45 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $4.73 billion.
Open-market rates
In the open market, the PKR lost 73 paise for buying and 81 paise for selling against USD, closing at 279.32 and 280.99, respectively. Against Euro, the PKR lost 71 paise for buying and 69 paise for selling, closing at 287.17 and 289.86, respectively. Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 17 paise for buying and 21 paise for selling, closing at 75.96 and 76.51, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 16 paise for buying and 20 paise for selling, closing at 74.24 and 74.75, respectively.
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THE RUPEE
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Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 278.71
Offer Close Rs. 278.91
Bid Open Rs. 278.58
Offer Open Rs. 278.78
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 279.32
Offer Close Rs. 280.99
Bid Open Rs. 278.59
Offer Open Rs. 280.18
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2025