Rupee dips as currency market opens after Eid holidays

KARACHI: The rupee ended weaker on Thursday due to dollar demand from importers after the long weekend, dealers said.

The rupee fell 0.14 per cent, or 40 paisas, to 280.58 against the dollar in the interbank market. The local unit also lost ground in the open market, trading at 281.99 per dollar. It finished at 281.91 in the previous session. The markets were closed from March 31 to April 2 for the Eidul Fitr holidays.

The dollar demand, according to dealers, was there as importers and companies sought to meet their commitments after the long weekend. Additionally, the market’s dollar supply has been impacted by the slowdown in remittance flows following Eid.

Moreover, investors assessed the impact of US President Donald Trump’s move to impose sweeping tariffs on US imports, which threatened to spark a global trade war, on Pakistan’s exports to the US.

Last month, Pakistan secured a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund for the first review of the ongoing $7 billion loan programme and also obtained a new $1.3 billion arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The IMF’s executive board is likely to consider approval of $2.3 billion in loans for Pakistan. Islamabad expects to secure the loan amount in the first week of May before the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2025-26.