KARACHI: The rupee inched up by one paisa against the dollar on Wednesday, owing to ease in the demand for the foreign currency for import payments, dealers said.

The interbank foreign exchange market ended at Rs176.74 against the greenback from the previous day’s closing of Rs176.75.

The dealers said the dollar demand eased on Wednesday, compared with the previous day. They said the greenback was in high demand on Tuesday because the market opened after three holidays.

The local currency recorded an all-time low of Rs178.24 against the dollar on December 29, 2021.

The dealers said the market was optimistic about the rupee’s stability in the coming days due to import restrictions introduced through the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021.

The ease in the import bill would help the rupee recover, they said, adding that the import bill decreased to $6.9 billion in December 2021, compared with $7.9 billion in November 2021.

The falling foreign exchange reserves would remain a challenge for the local currency.

The official foreign exchange reserves of the central bank slipped $299 million to $17.85 billion by the week ended December 24, 2021, compared with $18.15 billion a week ago.

The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan is the import cover for 2.25 months, which is below the benchmark of three months.

However, in the open market, buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs178/Rs179.20 at 3:20pm PST.

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