Rupee appreciates

The rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Thursday due to improvement in supplies of greenback, dealers said.

The rupee closed at 138.63 per dollar compared with the previous close of 138.83 in the interbank market.

Dealers said the rupee posted modest gains on the back of improved dollar supplies. “The inflows were adequate to cater to the market demand,” a dealer said. In the open market, the currency gained grounds tracking decline in dollar demand from investors. The rupee was trading at 138.90 per dollar versus its previous close of 139. However, investor expressed concerns about the statement issued by the federal secretary of the finance division saying that Pakistan might face economic sanctions over non-implementation of Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations.

Law enforcement agencies continued to intensify the crackdown on Jaish-e-Mohammad, Jamaatud Dawah, Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation and other banned outfits, with arrest of more than 100 activists and takeover of nearly 200 seminaries besides hundreds of other facilities and assets associated with them across the country.

Data issued by the central bank showed that Pakistan’s public debt increased 11.80 percent or Rs2.858 trillion to Rs27.070 trillion in the first seven months of the 2018/19 fiscal year. The government, in its second Finance Supplementary Bill 2019, agreed to introduce 10 major amendments into the Finance Act 2019 with most related to boosting investment.