KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee closed nearly flat against the US dollar in the interbank market on Tuesday.
The rupee closed at 280 per dollar, little changed from 280.01 in the previous session.In the open market, the local currency remained stable, ending at 281.05 against the dollar, similar to Monday’s rate.
Dealers said that the rupee remained stable, but it has to be seen whether it will gain further strength and break the key level of 280 against the dollar in the coming session. Analysts believe that the sustained strong growth in remittances and the ongoing rise in foreign exchange reserves suggest a potential breach of the 280 per dollar level.
However, given that the import demand gradually recovers, expectations are that the rupee will remain range-bound, with increasing two-way movement likely.In December, remittances were robust at $3.6 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 16.5 percent and a month-on-month rise of 12.6 percent. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s forex reserves held by the central bank rose by $141 million, reaching $16.1 billion as of January 2.
