Rupee rises for eighth straight session

KARACHI: The rupee extended gains against the dollar for the eighth conductive session in the interbank market on Friday.The rupee ended at 277.83 per dollar, compared with its previous closing value of 277.91 in the interbank market.

Dealers said the local unit maintained its upward momentum on the back of an improved supply of dollars in the market. In addition, the stable foreign exchange reserves helped boost investor sentiment.

The rupee held steady in the open market for the second consecutive session. It settled at the same level as the previous closing, 280.7 versus the dollar.Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $43 million to $9.51 billion as of September 13, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data on Thursday.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $30 million to $14.827 billion. However, the reserves of commercial banks dropped by $13 million to $5.317 billion.Notwithstanding the repayment of external debt, foreign reserves held steady as a result of improvements in the current account balance.

August saw Pakistan’s current account return to surplus after three months of deficits, primarily due to robust remittances.The country reported a $75 million current account surplus in August as opposed to a $246 million deficit the month before and a $152 million shortfall in August 2023.Pakistan reported a $171 million current account deficit in the first two months of fiscal year 2025, an 81 percent decline over the same period last year.