The rupee slumped for the sixth consecutive session as it shed Rs1.66 against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Friday.

The greenback was trading at Rs286.81 at the closing of the interbank market, as compared with the closing of Rs285.15 the previous day.

The decline in the value of the rupee was recorded despite the foreign reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan almost doubling amid an increase of around $4.2 billion.

The forex reserves of the SBP clocked-in at $8.7 billion during the week ending July 14, the central bank said on Thursday.

For analysts, the rupee has remained under pressure over an increased demand for the foreign currency for the import payment.

During the midday trading, the rupee gained strength against the dollar in the open market with a Rs4 increase in value.

The dollar was selling for Rs293 at the end of trading on Thursday but fell to Rs289 by noon on Friday.

However, the gap between interbank and open market rates continued to persist. The interbank rate on Friday was Rs 285.10.