Currency: Rupee hovers near record low

KARACHI: The rupee weakened on Friday to close near a record low hit earlier in the week. Dealers said the local currency was likely to hover around current levels in the near-term. The rupee ended at 86.54/57 to the dollar, weaker than Thursday’s close of 86.48/53. It closed at a record low of rupee 86.56/58 on Wednesday. “There have been a lot of payments in the last few days, especially for oil imports as well as for some debt repayments, and that has significantly pushed up demand for the dollar,” said a dealer at a foreign bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th,  2011.