Rupee weakens against US dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee pared some gains against the United States (US) dollars in the interbank currency market on Thursday.

According to foreign currency dealers, the local unit depreciated 91 paisas to Rs174.67 against the greenback in the interbank.

In the open market, however, the dollar is trading at Rs175.40 against the rupee.

Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin said ‘satta mafia‘ was behind depreciation of the rupee beside smuggling of the dollar to Afghanistan. He announced that the government was going to tighten the noose around the mafia.

The local currency started recovering from its steep fall against the US dollar on Oct 27, after the government announced Saudi Arabia’s financial support of up to $4.2 billion, raising the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves and boosting the sentiments of the currency market.

A week later, however, the rupee snapped its winning streak and began reversing gains.