KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee ended a tad higher against the US dollar in the interbank market on Tuesday as investors were encouraged by the latest crop of economic data.
The rupee closed at 279.27 per dollar, up 0.01 per cent from its close of 279.3 in the previous session.The local currency unit also gained ground in the open market. It traded at 280.33 against the dollar, compared with 280.36 on Monday.
“Encouragingly, Pakistan’s macro indicators showed further improvement, with the country posting a current account surplus of $427 million in February 2026, the highest since March 2025, supported by resilient remittances and a decline in services imports,” said Chase Securities in a note.
“Additionally, the slight decline in the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) suggests some improvement in external competitiveness,” it said. “However, on the monetary side, the latest treasury auctions signal a tightening liquidity environment, as cut-off yields across T-bills surged sharply, with the 3-month tenor rising by 100 basis points (bps) to around 11.5 per cent,” it added. “This reflects rising interest rate expectations and may keep equity valuations in check in the near term.”
On the external front, a key development emerged as an oil tanker successfully cleared the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards Pakistan, easing immediate supply-side concerns and offering some respite to energy-related anxieties, Chase Securities reported. “This development is particularly important given the recent volatility in global oil markets and its direct implications for Pakistan’s inflation trajectory and external account.”
