Currency: Rupee weakens against dollar

The rupee ended weaker at 85.93/96 to the dollar compared with Thursday’s close of 85.82/87 amid higher demand for dollars because of import payments, dealers said. The rupee hit a record low of 86.5 in May, and dealers said the local unit is expected to stay largely stable in the medium term because of increased remittances. Remittances hit record $10.1 billion in the first 11 months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.2 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to official data. In the money market, overnight rates were unchanged at 13.9 per cent in tight liquidity, dealers said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2011.