KARACHI: The rupee stayed flat against the dollar in the interbank market on Friday.The rupee closed at 278.61 per dollar, almost unchanged from the close of 278.62 in the previous session.In the open market, the local currency traded at 279.82 against the dollar, maintaining the same level as on Thursday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its country report on Pakistan published on Thursday, said that while the central bank’s proactive approach to reserve accumulation has helped increase foreign exchange buffers, reserve cover remains too low by standard reserve metrics, and certainly inadequate to support any specific exchange rate.
“With the economy now facing the largest external shock since 2022-23, exchange rate flexibility remains the first line of defence should exchange pressures emerge, to allow the interbank market to balance supply and demand efficiently,” the IMF’s report said.
The IMF expects the current account to record a small deficit in FY26, with an acceleration in import growth over the remaining months due to the spike in global energy prices.“The current account is expected to further deteriorate in FY27 on account of elevated oil and gas prices, although lower domestic demand is expected to mitigate the impact on the trade deficit from energy imports,” it added.
