KARACHI: The rupee appreciated for the seventh consecutive session against the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday.

The State Bank of Pakistan reported the greenback continued its losing streak and depreciated by 11 paise to close at Rs282.90 from Rs283.01 the previous day.

Currency experts, however, said the meagre gains may not have any major impact but stopped the dollar from moving upward. They said the situation is positive in the sense that the exchange rate is under control and both the importers and exporters are not facing wild fluctuations on a day-on-day basis.

“The situation looks positive for the exchange rate. I hope it will improve with the inflows from the IMF and other sources,” said Zafar Paracha, General Secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP). The dollar was traded at Rs284.50 in the open market, close to the interbank rate.

“The average inflows are higher as exchange companies have been selling $15 to $20 million per day to the banks. We sold around $300m to banks in November,” he said.

Importers said with tight control on opening LCs, this additional support of $300m from exchange companies is helping the SBP to keep the current account below the target. Bankers said the remittances declined by 10pc in the first five months of FY24 but the last two months’ inflows showed improvement.

The remittances were $2.5bn and $2.2bn in October and November, respectively. They said if the trend persists amid an exchange rate stability and low imports, the country’s current account would be in a comfortable position.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2023