Currency: Rupee weakens, overnight rates flat
rupee ended at 87.75/80 to the dollar
KARACHI:
Import payments and negative regional sentiment on currencies drove the Pakistani rupee to close near its record low on Friday, dealers said. The rupee ended at 87.75/80 to the dollar, weaker than Thursday’s close of 87.64/67, but still shy of its record low of 87.92 in September. However in the TOM (one-day forward) market, it traded at 87.95 according to dealers. “Next week there are fewer payments so the pressure may ease, however there is generally a weak sentiment about the economy,” said a dealer at a foreign bank. Dealers said the rupee was under pressure despite rising remittances from overseas Pakistanis, which rose to $1.02 billion in October, compared with $855.11 million in October 2010. In the money market, overnight rate ended at its top level of 11.90%, amid tight liquidity in the interbank market.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.
Import payments and negative regional sentiment on currencies drove the Pakistani rupee to close near its record low on Friday, dealers said. The rupee ended at 87.75/80 to the dollar, weaker than Thursday’s close of 87.64/67, but still shy of its record low of 87.92 in September. However in the TOM (one-day forward) market, it traded at 87.95 according to dealers. “Next week there are fewer payments so the pressure may ease, however there is generally a weak sentiment about the economy,” said a dealer at a foreign bank. Dealers said the rupee was under pressure despite rising remittances from overseas Pakistanis, which rose to $1.02 billion in October, compared with $855.11 million in October 2010. In the money market, overnight rate ended at its top level of 11.90%, amid tight liquidity in the interbank market.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.