The Pakistani rupee showed recovery on the first trading session of the month as it gained 20 paisas against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Friday, dealers said.

The greenback reached Rs284.97 at the closing of the market, as against the closing of Rs285.17 the previous day, according to the central bank.

In the open market, the buying of the dollar was recorded at Rs284.47 while it was quoted at 284.97 for selling at the time of filing the story.

Although the decrease is marginal, it is the fourth consecutive day that the foreign currency fell against the rupee. The government has attributed the rupee appreciation to the crackdown on illegal hoarders and money exchangers.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange recorded another positive session as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 1,159.98 points or 1.92% to reach 61,691.25 levels at the closing of the market.

The KSE-30 Index gained 366.13 points or 1.81% to reach 20,554.57 levels at the closing of the trading session.

On November 29, Saudia Arabia extended the term for the deposit of $3 billion placed with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank said in a statement.

“The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has extended the term for the deposit of USD 3 billion maturing on 05 December 2023 for another one year,” it added.

Meanwhile, the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $77 million to $7.257 billion during the week ended November 24, 2023.

The US dollar was on the back foot in the international market on Friday, while the euro nursed steep losses as traders weighed data that showed inflation was easing, stoking expectations that interest rates had peaked and central banks would soon start cutting rates.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was 0.145% lower at 103.30, after clocking its weakest monthly performance in a year in November, despite a 0.6% jump overnight.