Rupee ends lower against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee closed slightly weaker against the dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday, falling for the third consecutive session.

The rupee ended at 277.89 to the dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of 277.83.The rupee fell in the open market as well. The local unit was trading at 278.79 per dollar, which was a decrease from the previous session’s price of 278.74 per dollar.

Due to slow exporter supply and increased dollar demand from importers, dealers said the rupee continued its downward trend.State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said in an analyst briefing following the monetary policy meeting on Monday that the positive trend in the country’s external sector will continue, with remittances for October estimated to exceed $3 billion.

This development is anticipated to reduce the current account deficit to a negligible level for the July-October period.He said that debt repayments for FY25 total $26.1 billion, slightly down from the previous estimate of $26.2 billion due to interest expense adjustments. Over the next eight months, the government must pay $6.3 billion; the remainder will likely be rolled over or refinanced.