Rupee registers slight improvement, settles at 286.71

The Pakistani rupee recorded a slight increase against the US dollar with an appreciation of 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Monday.

At close, the currency settled at 286.71, an increase of Re0.03, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On Friday, the rupee ended its three-session winning streak against the US dollar, registering a decline of Re0.01 to settle at 286.74.

During the previous week, the Pakistani rupee remained largely stable and traded in a narrow range over the five-day period. The local currency recovered Re0.52 or 0.2% to end the week at 286.74.

Earlier it was learnt that Pakistan is not on the agenda of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meetings scheduled till June 29, as the 9th review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme remains pending.

Later on Saturday, the government imposed Rs215 billion in additional taxes, announced Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, as Islamabad eyed to resume the IMF programme.

Internationally, the US dollar held near a one-week high against its major peers on Monday as traders weighed the impact of protracted monetary tightening cycles on the global growth outlook and as worries over a deep downturn in major economies lingered.

Investors were also on guard after dramatic weekend events in Russia, though reaction in the currency market was subdued as they assessed the implications of the aborted mutiny.

Against a basket of currencies, the US dollar steadied at 102.71, after a gain of more than 0.5% last week, its first in nearly a month. Elsewhere, the Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 143.27 per dollar, though was not far from an over seven-month low of 143.87 hit on Friday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, fell on Monday after a revolt by Russian mercenaries over the weekend, though the political instability did not appear to pose an immediate threat to oil supply from one of the world’s largest producers.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Monday

BID Rs 286.65

OFFER Rs 286.75

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 288.00 and 291.00, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 4 rupees for both buying and selling, closing at 310.00 and 313.00 respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 80 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 78.50 and 79.20, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 75.00 and 75.75, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Monday

BID Rs 288.00

OFFER Rs 291.00