Rupee sees marginal decline against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal depreciation of 0.01% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Tuesday.

At close, the local unit settled at 278.38, a decline of Re0.04 against the greenback.

The inter-bank market was closed on July 1 (Monday) on account of a bank holiday.

During the previous week, the rupee closed on a positive note as the currency saw marginal appreciation of 0.06% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.

The local unit closed at 278.34, against 278.51 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The domestic currency that had stood at 285.99 on June 27, 2023 remained relatively stable for most part of the FY24, mostly on the back of administrative measures taken by the SBP announced in September to curb illegal trading and smuggling of currency.

In FY24, the rupee witnessed 2.8% year-on-year appreciation against the US dollar.

In a key development, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said prior actions for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme are largely complete, adding that some structural benchmarks will also be met as Islamabad moves ahead to secure a larger and long-term deal.

When asked what are some of the structural benchmarks Pakistan has to agree to with the IMF, the finance minister said that the country cannot run on the current tax-to-GDP ratio.

Globally, the US dollar was supported by rising US yields and the blowtorch was on low-yielding currencies on Tuesday such as China’s yuan and Japan’s yen, which was pinned to its lowest since 1986.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose nearly 14 basis points to 4.479% overnight, with analysts attributing the move to expectations of Donald Trump winning the US presidency and raising tariffs and government borrowing.

As the dollar rose, the euro handed back part of a small rally as the first round of France’s election turned out more or less in line with polling.

The single currency last bought $1.0735.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, extended gains to two-month highs on Tuesday on expectations of rising demand during the summer driving season and possible supply disruptions from Hurricane Beryl.

Brent crude futures rose 70 cents, or 0.81%, to $87.30 a barrel by 1035 GMT, their highest since April 30.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 68 cents, or 0.82%, at $84.06 after touching its highest since April 26.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Tuesday

BID Rs 278.38

OFFER Rs 278.58

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 1.00 paisa for buying and gained 5.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 277.54 and 280.20, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 70.00 paisa for buying and 68.00 paisa for selling, closing at 294.90 and 297.81, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 11.00 paisa for buying and 12.00 paisa for selling, closing at 75.00 and 75.74, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 19.00 paisa for buying and 17.00 paisa for selling, closing at 73.21 and 73.89, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Tuesday

BID Rs 277.54

OFFER Rs 280.20