Rupee firms, overnight rates flat

KARACHI: The rupee firmed to close at 83.45/55 to the dollar compared with 83.88/91 on Tuesday amid lower import demand and dollar selling by exporters.

Dealers said the rupee was expected to move in a narrow band in days ahead, though some downward pressure may be seen as import payment pressure grows in coming weeks.

In the money market, overnight rates ended at around 12 per cent, little changed from the previous day’s close, and dealers said they were waiting for the result of a treasury bill auction later in the day.

Inflows worth Rs59.3b from maturing government securities are scheduled for Thursday, dealers said. But the impact of the inflows would be offset by the T-bill auction on Wednesday, for which the central bank has set a target of Rs65b, it said.