Rupee records 22nd consecutive gain, settles at 282.69 against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee maintained its positive momentum against the US dollar, gaining 0.33% in the inter-bank market on Friday. This is the rupee’s 22nd consecutive increase against the greenback.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee settled at 282.69 after an increase of Re0.93 in the inter-bank market.

On Thursday, the rupee had appreciated 0.37% to settle at 283.62.

In a related development, the federal government’s total debt (domestic and external) stocks continued an upward journey, reaching a historic mark of Rs64 trillion by the end of August 2023, mainly due to exchange rate volatility.

The SBP on Thursday reported that the central government’s total domestic and external debt stocks rose by 5% during the first two months of this fiscal year (FY24).

Analysts said the debt burden is gradually increasing because of insufficient revenue collection that has forced the government to borrow from domestic and external resources to finance the soaring fiscal deficit.

Globally, the US dollar charged toward a 12-week winning streak on Friday, though it remained mostly range-bound as markets looked to US nonfarm payrolls data later in the day for clues on whether the Federal Reserve’s hawkish messaging on rates will need tweaking.

The dollar index, which earlier in the week hit a roughly 11-month high of 107.34, last settled at 106.43, but remained on track for 12 straight weeks of gains. The last time it clocked such a milestone was in 2014.

Friday’s closely-watched US jobs report comes on the heels of a run of resilient economic data which has reinforced the Fed’s rhetoric of higher-for-longer rates and sent the greenback and US Treasury yields surging.

“There’s an element here of just taking stock ahead of what should be a very important data release,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were stable on Friday but were on course for a week-on-week loss, as demand fears driven by macroeconomic headwinds were compounded by another partial lifting of Russia’s fuel export ban on Friday.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 282.65

OFFER Rs 282.85

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 2.50 rupees for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 278.50 and 281.50, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 1.00 rupee for both buying and selling, closing at 295.00 and 298.00, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 1.00 rupee for both buying and selling, closing at 76.50 and 77.20, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 50 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 74.50 and 75.20, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 278.50

OFFER Rs 281.50