KARACHI, Sept 9: The rupee was flat on Tuesday in dull trade and dealers said it was likely to see pressure in the long-term unless there were some foreign inflows in the market.

The rupee closed at 76.45/55 to the dollar, unchanged from Monday’s closing. It hit a record low of 77.45 on Sept 3 because of heavy oil payments.

“There were some trades at 76.55/58 but overall activity remained dull today,” said a Karachi based currency dealer.

The rupee has lost 19.4 per cent against the dollar this year, and foreign currency reserves have fallen sharply because of a deteriorating balance-of-payments position. Foreign currency reserves are so low, with $5.5 billion in central bank coffers, that the international bond market has priced in a possible default.

The central bank chief tried last week to reassure jittery markets by saying funds would soon arrive from international lenders to help fend off a brewing balance of payments crisis.

However, dealers said that did little to lift confidence as investors wanted to see those funds materialise. IMF Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Mohsin Khan said last week the new government had not requested for a fund programme and was preparing its own strategy.

There are hopes the government would focus on economic problems because of less political uncertainty after a presidential election.—Reuters