Currency: Rupee ends flat against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee ended flat on Thursday but dealers expect pressure on the local unit because of import payments for oil and the country’s widening current account deficit. The rupee ended at 89.96/90.01 to the dollar compared with Wednesday’s close of 89.97/90.02. The rupee was traded at its record low of 90.03 on Wednesday. “The rupee is likely to hit a new record low in the short term,” said a bank dealer. The country’s current account deficit stood at $2.104 billion in July-Nov compared with $589 million in the same period a year earlier. The deficit is likely to widen further in the coming months because of debt repayments and a lack of external aid.

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