KARACHI: The rupee gained 6 paisas against the dollar on Friday, amid demand for the foreign currency ahead of the weekly holidays, dealers said.

The exchange rate ended at Rs157.62 against the greenback, compared with the last day’s closing of Rs157.68 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dealers said the market witnessed demand for the dollar during the day for import and corporate payments. However, the supply of dollars was sufficient to meet the demand.

The market remained optimistic on the rupee value, as the country had sufficient stocks of foreign exchange reserves, the dealers said.

The foreign exchange reserves of the country stood at $23.257 billion by the week ended June 18, 2021, while the official reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stood at $16.106 billion, according to the data released by the central bank a day ago.