Rupee registers meagre loss amid importers' rush to buy dollar

• Rupee closes at 218.43 against dollar in interbank market.
• Drop in inflows impacted market sentiment.
• Analysts expect currency to remain range-bound in coming days.

KARACHI: Pakistan's rupee once again registered a decline on Friday, depreciating 0.02% against the US dollar in the interbank market to cap off a volatile week for the currency that saw it breaking its 13-day-long streak.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 218.43 after depreciating Rs0.05 against the greenback.

The drop in inflows — following a decline in the foreign exchange reserves — impacted the market sentiment and encouraged importers to buy dollars at the prevailing rate before it became expensive.

The excessive supply of dollars in the market helped the rupee to stage a 13-day-long rally. However, the supply of foreign currency decelerated following a decline in remittances ad reserves.

Going forward, analysts expect the currency to remain range-bound in the coming days and see momentum to sustain amid expected inflows from multilateral institutions.

Globally, US dollar remained steady against other currencies, as investors wait for US inflation figures out later on Thursday. The data is expected to reinforce bets that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively tighten policy.