Currency: Rupee up against dollar

KARACHI: Pakistani rupee ended stronger at 90.72/77 to the dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 91.90/95. The currency has been supported 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. State Bank  of Pakistan’s monetary policy statement claimed

that the external sector was likely to remain under pressure because of both external debt payments and lack of foreign aid. Overnight rates in the money  market ended at 9.10%, down from Wednesday’s
close of 11.90% because of increased liquidity in the market.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2012.