Rupee to gradually gain in 2009, reserves to reach $15.5 billion

KARACHI: Pakistani rupee is likely to gain gradually against the US dollar during the rest of the year, says a foreign exchange analyst of a leading foreign bank.

Priyanka Chakravarty, an India based FX strategist at Standard Chartered Bank, says the IMF’s decision to allocate an additional $3.2bn to Pakistan, and the ensuing sovereign credit rating upgrade by Standard and Poor’s, bode well for the currency. She says the rupee is not likely to lose value despite pressure from a deteriorating trade deficit due to rising commodity prices...link