Currency: Rupee weaker against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee ended weaker at 90.90/96 to the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of 90.75/80, because of a rise in import payments.

The rupee has been supported in the last week by remittances, which rose 21.45% to $9.73 billion in the first nine months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $8.02 billion in the same period last year. In March, remittances totalled $1.14 billion.

In its monetary policy statement last Friday, the State Bank of Pakistan said the external sector was likely to remain under pressure because of both external debt payments and a lack of foreign aid. Pakistan’s current account deficit widened to a provisional $3.089 billion in the first nine months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Overnight rates in the money market ended flat at 11.90%, unchanged from Friday’s close amid tight liquidity in the interbank market.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2012.