Rupee registers gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee continued its marginal gains against the US dollar in the interbank market on Friday.

The local unit closed the day at 276.91, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee settled at 276.92 against the dollar.

Internationally, the US dollar headed for its first weekly fall in five weeks on Friday, lifting the euro from a 17-month low as wobbles in AI investment and drop in US yields put the brakes on recent gains.

Moves in the Asian morning were slight, leaving the dollar down 0.2% this week at 158.13 yen and shedding about 0.1% to $1.1210 per euro.

The reversal has come not a moment too soon for the common currency, which over the previous five weeks had dropped more than 3% on the dollar on jitters about France’s growing debt pile and a winter energy squeeze.

With the market positioned long in dollars, more AI wobbles could unwind that and push the dollar down further.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major peers, was at 102.07, set for a 0.14% drop in the week. Sterling was steady at $1.3270 for a weekly rise of 0.3%, helped by data showing Britain’s economy unexpectedly grew 0.1% in August.

The New Zealand dollar looked likely to scratch out a weekly gain of 0.1% at $0.5621.

The Australian dollar was flat at $0.6921 and an outlier in heading for a fall of 0.8% on the dollar this week, after a surprisingly soft jobs report on Thursday had markets paring back expectations for another rise in interest rates.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks in Bangkok on Friday at 0330 GMT (11:30 p.m. ET Thursday) at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting, a final chance to shape market expectations for the Fed’s decision in less than two weeks.

Traders are pricing in a 72% chance of the Fed standing pat later this month, up from 53% a month earlier, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, steadied on Friday and were heading for weekly ​gains on uncertainty over Middle East supplies and a larger-than-expected draw from US crude ‌stockpiles, while European diesel margins dropped after an IEA move to release more of the fuel.

Brent crude futures were flat at $105.92 a barrel at 1311 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 22 cents, or 0.2%, to $97.75.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 276.91

OFFER Rs 277.11

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 4 paise for buying and 13 paise for selling against USD, closing at 277.47 and 278.64, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 75 paise for buying and 71 paise for selling, closing at 311.34 and 314.17, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and gained 1 paisa for selling, closing at 75.57 and 76.16, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 3 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 73.87 and 74.40, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 277.47

OFFER Rs 278.64