Currency : Rupee weakens against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee ended weaker at 90.35/42 to the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of 90.22/27, on increased import payments. The rupee touched a record low of 91.28 to the dollar on Jan. 9, pressured by concerns about higher payments for oil imports and the country’s economic health, especially a weakening current account. The current account recorded a provisional deficit of $2.154 billion in the first six months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with a surplus of $8 million in the same period last year, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan. The deficit is likely to widen further in coming months because of debt repayments and a lack of external aid. In the money market, overnight rates ended flat at 11.90 per cent, unchanged from Friday’s close, due to a lack of liquidity in the interbank market.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2012.