By Moaaz Manzoor

The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable during the second week of March, trading within a narrow range against major global currencies as steady foreign exchange reserves and relatively contained external pressures supported sentiment in the currency market, reports Wealth Pakistan.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the United States dollar was quoted at 279.0979 (buying) and 279.5230 (selling) on March 9. The exchange rate slightly changed to 279.0778 and 279.5029 on March 10. It stood at 279.0810 and 279.5061 on March 11, followed by 279.0310 and 279.4561 on March 12. By March 13, the greenback was recorded at 279.0278 (buying) and 279.4529 (selling), indicating minimal fluctuations in the rupee-dollar parity during the week.

In the euro market, the rupee was quoted at 322.2490 (buying) and 322.7330 (selling) on March 9. The single currency rose to 324.3130 and 324.8005 on March 10 and further increased to 324.6669 and 325.1595 on March 11. It then eased to 322.0476 and 322.5350 on March 12 before declining to 321.0042 and 321.4918 on March 13.

The British pound traded at 371.6904 (buying) and 372.2593 (selling) on March 9. It increased to 374.9168 and 375.4992 on March 10 and further rose to 375.3638 and 375.9436 on March 11. The pound later declined to 373.1133 and 373.6883 on March 12 before standing at 372.1259 and 372.7000 on March 13.

Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan was quoted at 40.4004 (buying) and 40.4521 (selling) on March 9. It rose to 40.5720 and 40.6241 on March 10 and further increased to 40.6951 and 40.7471 on March 11. The yuan then slipped to 40.5915 and 40.6432 on March 12 before settling at 40.5598 and 40.6126 on March 13.

Similarly, the Saudi riyal remained within the range of 74.3414 to 74.3650 on the buying side and 74.4505 to 74.4748 on the selling side during March 9–13, while the Japanese yen stayed within the range of 1.7504 to 1.7697 for buying and 1.7530 to 1.7723 for selling over the same period.

According to Arif Habib Limited, the Pakistani rupee remained broadly stable against the United States dollar during the week, appreciating slightly by 0.03 percent week-on-week to 279.31 per dollar from 279.40 per dollar.

The brokerage house also noted that Pakistan’s trade deficit stood at $3.0 billion in February 2026, with exports recorded at $2.3 billion, down 8.5 percent year-on-year and 25.5 percent month-on-month, while imports stood at $5.3 billion, declining 0.4 percent year-on-year and 8.4 percent month-on-month. During the first eight months of fiscal year 2025-26, the cumulative trade deficit increased by 25.3 percent year-on-year to $25.1 billion.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan-held reserves rose by $41.1 million to $16.3 billion during the week, while commercial bank reserves increased by $123.3 million to $5.2 billion.

Remittances increased by 5 percent year-on-year to $3.3 billion in February 2026, although they declined by 5 percent month-on-month. During the first eight months of fiscal year 2025-26, inflows rose by 10 percent year-on-year to $26.5 billion.

Analysts believe the rupee’s stable performance reflects relatively balanced external accounts and steady reserve support, with the currency likely to remain range-bound in the near term barring any significant external shock.

Credit: INP-WealthPk