KARACHI: The rupee hit a 14-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, bouncing back to the level of 97 in the official market, dealers said.
Currency dealers said the rupee appreciated by seven paisas to close at 97.02 to the dollar from Tuesday’s closing of 98.02 in the interbank market.
However, the rupee was quoted at 100.25 for buying and 100.50 for selling against the greenback in the open market.
Dealers also said that the forex market is stable and the episode of panic has been over. Meanwhile, the difference between the dollar rates of interbank and open currency markets remained higher at above 200 paisas.
The State Bank of Pakistan has directed the forex exchange companies to ensure the spread between the rates of interbank and open markets should not exceed one percent.
Malik Bostan, chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) told The News that the spread between the value of the rupee traded against the dollar in the interbank market and open market has been widening due to the supply constraints.
“The traders have hoarded the dollars again and now only 20 percent traders are coming to sell their dollars. However, the buyers are around 80 percent in the open market. This situation causing buying pressure in the market,” he said.
He also said that the ECAP has convened the meeting of the representatives of the exchange companies on Thursday and, they will soon establish exchange counters in 10 big cities of the country in order to make smooth the availability of the dollars to genuine buyers such as who buy the foreign currency for sending abroad to their families and children studying abroad.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) after completion of the second review on the Pakistan’s economic performance under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) has approved an immediate disbursement of $555.6 million. Further, an inflow of $1.5 billion is also expected to materialise from the bilateral official sources soon.
The anticipated inflows will shore up the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan and bring further stability to the forex market.
