KARACHI: The downward slide of the Pakistani rupee slowed on Thursday as the encouraging current account deficit number has lent some support to the local unit. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs220.95 in the interbank market after depreciating registering a meagre loss of 0.03% against the greenback compared to Wednesday’s close of 220.88. The market took positive cues from the current account deficit released a day earlier, which narrowed 37% to $2.2 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year due to lower imports and a rise in exports. Commenting on the rupee’s movement, Pakistan-Kuwait Head of Research Samiullah Tariq said better than expected current account deficit number has improved the sentiment. “Slight movement was exhibited by the rupee,” he said. Regarding the outlook, Tariq said it had improved significantly with a lower current account deficit number.
