KARACHI: The rupee appreciated again on Tuesday, rising by Rs2.36 against the dollar to close at Rs161.3.

This represented a 1.45 per cent decrease in the value of dollar compared to Rs163.49 the earlier day.

Currency dealers in the interbank market said demand for dollars is at the lowest level these days.

Since importers are not buying dollars, that market is largely muted.

The dollar has lost its price by Rs5.85 during the last five sessions, indicating the buying pressure from hot money investors seems to be over. Meanwhile, the interbank market had witnessed a big depreciation of the dollar by Rs3.57 on last Friday.

“There is still some buying from foreigners who have a presence in treasury bills and the equity market,” said an interbank dealer.

On Tuesday, foreigners sent out $11.941 million from T-bills and $4.776m from the equity market.

“The oil prices all over the world have declined drastically while the hope for any price reversal is not visible as coronavirus has stopped the economic wheels,” said a currency dealer in a bank. He said resumption of activity would take a long time to go back to the pre-virus era.

Recent data issued by the SBP shows that both remittances and the foreign direct investment increased at the end of third quarter of this fiscal year. The former was up 6pc while the latter soared by 137pc.

The remittance is the backbone of the economy, clocking in at $20 billion in FY19. However, there is fear that due to slump in oil prices thousands of Pakistanis could lose jobs particularly in the Middle East and remittances would fall significantly.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2020