KARACHI: The rupee appreciated for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, rising by 3.2 per cent from a record 239.71 against the dollar last week to 232.12 on Wednesday in the interbank market.

On Wednesday, the rup­ee gained 0.77pc, or Rs1.79, against the dollar. It jumped 1.11pc and 1.33pc in the previous two sessions.

Currency dealers said the rupee was appreciating under the perception that the new finance minister, Ishaq Dar, who has strongly favoured intervention in currency markets in three previous stints in the job, would try to do the same this time around to bring down the dollar much below the prevailing rate.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Dar had a warning for currency market speculators, saying that the rupee, which has weakened more than 30pc against the dollar so far this year, was undervalued.

“Our currency right now is not at the place where it should be, it is undervalued,” he said.

In the open market, the dollar lost Rs2 and was traded at Rs232. It has now lost Rs13 in the last four sessions from the peak of Rs245.

As the main reason behind a weak rupee — low foreign exchange reserves — remains there, hopes are high in the open market that Pakistan’s foreign debt would be restructured and that would ease pressure on the exchange rate.

However, currency experts were unaware about the amount of dollars received from abroad in flood relief aid as the government has yet to release data in this regard.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2022