Currency : Rupee, overnight rates remain flat

KARACHI: The rupee ended flat at 86.22/27 to the dollar, unchanged from the previous day’s close and dealers said the local unit should largely hold steady in the days ahead. The rupee hit a record low of 86.5 in May, but has been steady since largely due to increased remittances from Pakistanis working abroad. According to official data, remittances rose to a record $11.2 billion in 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.77% from the previous year. In the money market, overnight rates closed at the top rate of 13.9%, unchanged from Monday, despite a reverse repo by the central bank in which it injected government paper worth Rs22.5 billion. Dealers said rates are likely to hover around top levels this week.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2011.