The Pakistani rupee gained further on Friday,as dollar inflows continued to be healthy,outmatching the demand for the US currency from importers,and dealers said the rupee can strengthen further in days ahead. The rupee closed at 84.23/30 to the dollar,stronger than the previous day's close of 84.30 Dollar supplies in the market are pretty good,and though there is demand from importers,dollar flows are good enough for that,said a dealer at a foreign bank. The rupee has performed strongly in recent months,hitting an 11-month high last week thanks largely to record inflow of remittances,strong foreign exchange reserves,healthy exports and a current account surplus,according to analysts and officials. Remittances by overseas Pakistani increased by 22.37 percent to more than $8 billion in the first nine months of the 2010/11 fiscal year,and in March a record $1.05 billion was received,according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan. Thanks to the rising dollar inflows,the rupee is up 1.64 percent against the dollar this year. It lost 1.53 percent against the dollar in 2010,and 6 percent in 2009. I think the rupee should gain a bit further in the coming days,as dollar inflows are expected to hold firm,said another bank dealer. I see the rupee trading in the range of 84.00-84.40 to the dollar in the near term,he said. Meanwhile,stocks also ended higher in anticipation of healthy corporate earnings expected to be announced by blue chip companies next week,dealers said. Many blue chip companies,including the Oil and Gas Development Co Ltd ,Pakistan State Oil ,National Bank of Pakistan and MCB Bank Ltd ,are due to announce their results for the quarter ended March 31 next week. The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.26 percent,or 30.78 points,to end at 11,954.37. Volume was 66.96 million shares,compared with 71.1 million shares traded on Thursday. In the money market,overnight rates fell from the peak of 13.90 percent on Thursday to close around the floor of 11.0 percent. The market was pretty liquid today and the central bank also conducted a mop-up operation today,but rejected the bids as banks offered very high rates,said a brokerage house dealer. As a result,the market stayed liquid and the rates fell sharply,he said.
