Rupee sees slight improvement against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement as it appreciated a marginal 0.03% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

At close, the local unit settled at 279.41 after a gain of Re0.07 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On Thursday, the rupee had registered a marginal increase to settle at 279.48 against the US dollar, according to the SBP.

In a key development, Business Recorder, citing its sources, reported that the government team is all set to hold a session with International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a day or two on tariff rationalisation meant to reduce tariff for industry up to cents 11.75 per unit from cents 14 per unit through subsidy neutral proposal.

Globally, the US dollar fell broadly on Friday in a bout of positive risk sentiment following upbeat big tech earnings on Wall Street, while traders awaited US jobs data due later in the day to gauge how soon the Federal Reserve could begin easing rates.

The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report later on Friday comes on the heels of the Fed’s latest policy meeting where rates were kept steady as expected, though Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against market expectations of rate cuts in March.

Ahead of the release, the greenback dipped against a basket of currencies, extending a 0.5% fall in the previous session.

The dollar index was last at 103.02 and on track for its first weekly decline for the year.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Friday after the OPEC+ group’s decision to keep its production policy unchanged, but benchmarks remained on track for weekly losses on China demand growth fears.

Brent crude futures were up 50 cents, or 0.6%, at $79.20 a barrel by 1001 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 47 cents, or 0.6%, to $79.20.

The Brent benchmark had approached $85 a barrel in Monday trading.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 279.41

OFFER                      Rs 279.61

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 8 paisa for buying and 13 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 279.18 and 281.21, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 2.05 rupees for buying and 1.93 rupees for selling, closing at 302.97 and 305.68, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 2 paisa for buying and lost 1 paisa for selling, closing at 76.22 and 76.98, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 74.38 and 75.02, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 279.18

OFFER                      Rs 281.21