Banks eye $2.5bn in remittances for April

Bankers and currency dealers have anticipated over $2.5 billion in remittances in April like the preceding month which helped the country to record a current account (C/A) surplus. At the same time, they believe the country could post a C/A surplus for the second month in a row which would reduce pressure on the dwindling foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). “Despite higher remittances and C/A surplus, the demand for the US dollars remained high which did not allow the rupee to feel easy against the greenback,” said Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the interbank market. With the improved availability of dollars both in interbank and open markets, the exchange rate did not reflect the situation mainly because of tight control of dollar movement by the SBP. Bankers said the opening of letters of credit has been made easy for smaller amounts and the big importers are still unable to buy dollars from the interbank market.