Currency: Rupee unchanged against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee ended flat at 90.62/67 to the dollar, unchanged from Tuesday’s close, although dealers expect pressure to continue on the local unit due to increased import payments. Dealers said they were also cautious after the International Monetary Fund advised Pakistan to take immediate steps to tackle growing budget pressures and raise interest rates to contain inflation. The IMF on Monday projected a widening of Pakistan’s fiscal deficit in the 2011/12 fiscal year to 7 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with the government’s revised budget target of 4.7 per cent. In the money market, overnight rates ended at their top level of 11.90 per cent, compared with the previous day’s close of between 11.25 per cent and 11.75 per cent, because of a lack of liquidity in the interbank market.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2012.