The Pakistani rupee posted marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At close, the local currency settled at 278.15, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Tuesday, the local unit closed at 278.16.

Meanwhile, the US dollar held steady on Thursday as markets awaited key ​US non-farm payrolls data, while the yen’s slide to 40-year lows against the greenback and thin trading ‌ahead of a US holiday kept traders on high alert for intervention.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, eased 0.02% to 101.38.

Thursday’s data is expected to show US employers added 110,000 jobs in June, with ​the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Reuters.

Moreover, oil prices dropped about 1% on Thursday, down for a third consecutive day.

Brent futures lost 79 cents or 1.1% to $70.78 a barrel by 0642 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 84 cents or 1.2% to $67.74 a barrel.

Both benchmarks fell more than 1% in the previous session.

As the strait stays open and crude oil flows out, there are growing expectations of oversupply and competition for market share is pushing prices down, Haitong Futures said in a note.