KARACHI, Jan 5: After having fallen modestly against the US dollar during the last couple of sessions, the rupee on Saturday stayed firm on the open market as selling of the US currency from various sources dried up, the market sources said.

But against the euro, the rupee was cheaper by 20 paisa at Rs54.25 and 54.45 for buying and selling as against Friday’s Rs54.45 and Rs54.65 respectively.

Money changers say the current strength of the euro as compared to the dollar could have negative impact on Pakistan’s textile export to the European Union.

“A difference of about Rs7 between the euro and dollar rates could lower the value of Pakistan’s exports to the EU, which in turn could eat away the major portion of recently announced tax exemptions,” they fear. In inter-bank dealings, the euro was quoted at Rs53.68 and Rs54.16 for buying and selling respectively.

But on the other hand there was no major change in value of the rupee against the dollar on the inter bank market for the second session, but in kerb it showed minor either-way changes depending on the size of demand and unloading.

In the open market, the rupee was quoted around Rs61.10 and Rs61.20 for buying and selling respectively.

“The spread of 15 paisa (previous 20 paisa) between the two rates as compared to normal five paisa appears to be a technical weapon to discourage selling of the dollar from the untraditional quarters as well as to keep its value around the current level,” some money changers claim.

However, minor either-way fluctuations in the dollar indicates the presence of genuine buying sans speculative trading as has been a couple of weeks earlier, notably when the bombing on Afghanistan was at its peak, they add.