Currency: Rupee weakens against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee ended weaker at 86.60/65 to the dollar compared with Friday’s close of 86.39/45 amid higher import payments following a rise in international oil prices. The rupee posted a record low at 86.83 this month but dealers said the local unit’s sharp fall is likely to be prevented by a rise in remittances from overseas Pakistanis. Remittances rose 38.57 per cent to $1.1 billion in the first month of 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $791.18 million in the same period last year, according to official data. In the money market, overnight rates ended at 13.25 per cent, compared with Saturday’s close of 13.40 per cent after the State Bank of Pakistan injected government paper worth 30.05 billion Pakistani rupees ($347.72 million).

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2011.