KARACHI: The rupee gained 1.38 per cent against the dollar on Thursday to close at 218.88 in the interbank market, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

The value of the national currency has increased 9.3pc in the last eight sessions, according to Arif Habib Ltd. Despite the recent trend, the rupee has lost as much as 19.36pc against the US currency since the start of 2022. Since July 1, which is the first day of the current fiscal year, the rupee has shed 6.41pc against its American counterpart.

The dollar rate in the open market was Rs216, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan.

SBP reserves down $555m

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday its reserves in the week ending on Aug 5 decreased by $555 million to $7.83bn owing to external debt payments. “Debt repayments are expected to moderate during the next three weeks of this month. In fact, around three-fourths of debt servicing for the month of August was concentrated during the first week,” it added.

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks amounted to $5.73bn. Therefore, total liquid foreign reserves clocked in at $13.56bn, the SBP said.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2022