Currency: Rupee weakens, overnight rates flat

KARACHI: The rupee ended weaker at 85.64/74 to the dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of 85.57/63. It hit a record low of 86.50 on Monday amid increased demand for dollar for import payments and a bleak outlook. There are concerns about the growing tensions with the West, which could choke off much needed foreign aid. Concerns over a reduction in foreign aid have flared since US Special Forces found and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden early this month in a house near the Pakistani capital. In the money market, overnight rates ended flat between 13.75 per cent and 13.90 per cent, unchanged from the previous day’s close.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2011.