The rupee crossed an important barrier of Rs 128 against the dollar on the money market on Monday in process of strong buying of the US currency, dealers said. Commenting on the rupee's fall in the open market, some experts said that the dollar started moving up in the middle session of the week. A kind of uncertainty prevailed in the market due to rising speculations about further increase in the value of the dollar, people are buying dollars as a safe-haven, marketmen said. President of the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), Malik Bostan said that rumours of hike in dollars rate, forced people to purchase dollars, dollars' supply is tight for many reasons, so rates are going up sharply.
Now, it is interesting to note that how the dollar reacts in the near future, other experts said. At a time, the dollar was trading at Rs 128.30 and it seems that the rupee is likely to move cautiously in terms of the dollar, they said.
In the first Asian trade, The dollar slipped against the Canadian dollar on Monday as the United States and Canada reached a framework deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Sources with direct knowledge of the talks confirmed the two countries reached a deal, which involved offering more dairy access to US farmers as well as Canada agreeing to a side-letter arrangement effectively capping automobile exports to the United States.
A Mexican source close to the NAFTA talks separately said: "we have a trilateral deal."
The Canadian dollar rose about 0.7 percent, reaching a four-month high of C$1.2814 as the news about the framework agreement broke, before giving up some gains. It last traded at C$1.2836.
The loonie added to the previous session's gains of more than one percent.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 72.815 and the greenback was at 4.141 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit.
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Open Bid Rs.127.30
Open Offer Rs.127.80
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Bid Rate Rs.124.25
Offer Rate Rs.124.26
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The short supply phenomenon of the greenback prevailed throughout the trading session which helped its further appreciation for buying and selling at Rs 127.00 and Rs 127.80 as compared to the last closing trend of Rs 126.20 and Rs 127.20, respectively, local currency dealers said.
Similarly, the local currency also followed the same suit against the pound sterling. The pound's buying and selling rates rose from Saturday's closing of Rs 163.90 and Rs 165.50 to Rs 164.70 and Rs 165.90 respectively, they added.
The dollar opened at Rs 127.40 (buying) and Rs 127.50 (selling) against last rate of Rs 126.40 (buying) and Rs 126.50 (selling). It closed at Rs 127.40 (buying) and Rs 127.50 (selling).