Rupee continues to strengthen against US dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee strengthened further against the US dollar, appreciating 0.43 percent during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday.

At 11:15am, the rupee was hovering at 296.68, an increase of Rs1.28, in the inter-bank market.

On Wednesday, the rupee had appreciated 0.29 percent to settle at 297.96.

Gold price surges in Pakistan

Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained the key policy rate at 22 percent as it projected inflation to remain on a downward trajectory in the future.

This is the second successive meeting in which the MPC has maintained status quo on the policy rate.

The MPC’s decision comes against wider market consensus that saw a rate hike.