Rupee continues making gains against USD, trades at Rs215.79

Dollar depreciates further by Rs3.09; reaches Rs214 in open market

KARACHI:

The rupee gained further ground against the US dollar on Friday and was traded at around Rs215.79 in the interbank market on the back of positive economic indicators.

Reports of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signing a deal “anytime soon” led to the dollar depreciating further by Rs3.09 to Rs215.79 in the interbank market after previous volatility. In the open market, the dollar rate fell by Rs2 to Rs214.

According to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, the IMF Executive Board is scheduled to meet on August 24 and will consider giving final approval for the resumption of the programme. The approval will be followed by the receipt of the loan tranche of $1.2billion.

Compared to the July 28 dollar rate, which was Rs239.94, there has been a total decrease of Rs24 in the interbank market. In the open market, the value of the dollar has decreased by a total of Rs30, falling from Rs244 rupees on July 28 to Rs214 today.

Read Imports will be limited for three more months

Importers are buying less dollars while exporters are selling their export receipts in the market due to the news of improvement in the economy, the end of insolvency risks and various restrictions on imports placed by the government for the next three months.

Experts say that this year, the current account deficit will decrease from the initial estimate to $7 to $8 billion and the need for external loans will decrease from the initial estimate of $36 to $41 billion to $32 to $20 billion with a forecast of economic stability. The dollar is weakening, and the rupee is strengthening based on the expectation that the pressure on the foreign exchange will end in two months.

The demand for dollars has decreased due to the expectation of further reduction in imports due to the falling prices of crude oil and other commodities in the world market. There has been a decrease in the buyers of dollars whereas the number of sellers is increasing. Thus, the dollar supply in the market has increased and it is depreciating against the rupee on a daily basis.