Currency: Rupee steady against dollar

KARACHI: The rupee ended steady at 107.23/107.29 against the dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of 107.23/107.28. Heavy debt repayments to the IMF have been putting a dent in the central bank’s reserves, which have declined nearly 20% in the current fiscal year, putting pressure on the rupee. The last IMF repayment of $164 million was made on September 27, 2013. Overseas Pakistanis sent home a record $13.920 billion in the previous fiscal year (July 2012-June 2013), showing growth of 5.56% or $733.64 million compared with $13.187 billion a year earlier. Monthly average of remittances for July-May this fiscal year came to $1.16 billion compared to $1.097 billion in the same period a year ago. Overnight rates in the money market increased to 9.40% from Tuesday’s close of 8.50%.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2013.

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