The Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar in the interbank market on Tuesday.
The local unit closed the day at 277.30, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
On Monday, the Pakistani rupee settled at 277.31 against the dollar.
Internationally, the US dollar inched up to trade near a two-week high on Tuesday as surging oil prices lifted Treasury yields and reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this week.
It also gained support as risk appetite weakened after stock markets tumbled, with AI-related shares under pressure after industry leaders called for slower development to contain potential threats to humanity.
Markets now see a Fed hike on Wednesday as a near certainty, with CME’s FedWatch tool pricing in a roughly 93% chance of an interest-rate increase, which would be the first in more than three years.
Near-term support may persist, but with a hike now heavily priced in, further dollar upside will likely require the Fed to keep the door open to additional tightening, he added.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was last at 99.55.
The euro was slightly weaker against the dollar at $1.1538, as was sterling at $1.3494.
The yen also pulled away from a seven-month high, last down roughly 0.2% at 154.72 ahead of an expected Bank of Japan rate hike on Friday.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, edged higher on Tuesday after attacks on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure left the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline offline, raising fears that damage to energy infrastructure and transport routes could take longer to repair.
Brent crude futures were up 6 cents at $105.74 a barrel at 1301 GMT after hitting a session high of $108.43. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 27 cents at $101.66 a barrel after rising as far as $104.21 earlier.
Concerns over oil supplies intensified after Houthi forces in Yemen launched fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia on Monday, while Gulf Arab states postponed planned discussions with Iran.
Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Tuesday
BID Rs 277.30
OFFER Rs 277.50
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained3.00 paisa for buying and 11.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 278.16 and 279.02, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 61.00paisa for buying and 1.31rupee for selling, closing at 319.99and 322.63, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 3.00 paisa for buying and 11.00 paisa for selling, closing at 75.60 and 76.16, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 6.00 paisa for both buying and selling,closing at 73.88 and 74.42, respectively.
Open-market rates for dollar on Tuesday
BID Rs 278.16
OFFER Rs 279.02
Comments