Dollar presses rupee down

KARACHI: The rupee Wednesday weakened to 86.12/18 to the dollar from 86.00/06 on Tuesday, amid high dollar demand from importers.

Dealers said healthy remittances from Pakistanis living abroad had been supporting the rupee in previous trading sessions, but cautioned that a widening current account deficit means the local currency could experience downward pressure in the days ahead.

Pakistan's current account deficit surged to a provisional $908 million in September, compared with a deficit of $201 million in the previous month.

The deficit for the July-September quarter was a provisional $1.209 billion, compared with $597 million in the same period last year, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan.

In the money market, overnight rates ended flat at 11.75 percent, and dealers said the market was now looking to the result of a fortnightly treasury bills auction, in which they expect a decline in the cut-off yields.

The result is due later in the day. (Reuters)