Dollar loses Rs5 in open market

The rupee turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as it recovered to Rs303 in the open market, but suffered slight losses in the interbank market due to persisting confusion about the country’s economic direction. However, the dollar’s quoted price was lower than the available price. Currency dealers said the price was not lower than Rs306 per dollar while availability of the dollar was not common. The closing price of dollar in the open market was Rs303 on Tuesday — a gain of Rs 5 for PKR over the previous day’s Rs308. The shortage of dollars has been a permanent feature of the open market since inflows dried up from all possible sources. Due to a grey market that offers Rs320 per dollar, the remittances from exchange companies have almost reduced to zero. “The general public is also reluctant to sell their dollars or other foreign currencies due to fluctuation in the dollar rates,” said a currency dealer. He said the currency market had shrunk to the lowest level. “The open market is so thin that an inflow of just one hundred thousand dollars could change the greenback price across the country,” said the dealer.