The dollar maintained its downward trend in the interbank foreign exchange market as it declined by Rs1.05 at the closing of the market on Tuesday, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

“PKR gained (+4.1%, PKR 12.08) against $ in the last ten consecutive trading sessions,” said Arif Habib Limited in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The caretaker government has attributed the recent appreciation of the rupee against the dollar to the crackdown on illegal money exchangers and dollar hoarders.

The greenback was trading at Rs294.9 at the closing of the interbank against the closing of Rs295.95 the previous day in the interbank market.

In the open market, the dollar declined by Re1 and was available at Rs296 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Stock Exchange also opened on a positive note as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 100.68 points or 0.22%, and was trading at 45,903.87 levels in the early trading. But it closed at 45,910.46 after gaining 107.27 points, or appreciating by 0.23%.

The KSE-30 Index shed 26.33 points, or 0.16%, to close at 16,138.56 levels on Tuesday.

On September 15, caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar told a press conference that there were “some signs” of economic recovery “even if they were just starting”.

Akhtar claimed that the government was trying to manage the country’s challenges prudently by controlling expenditures and enhancing revenue. “So if you review macroeconomic indicators, you will see some improvement. There are some signs of economic recovery even if it’s just starting.”