Rupee remains largely stable against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

At close, the local unit settled at 278.39, a loss of Re0.01 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On Tuesday, the rupee closed at 278.38, lower by Re0.05 or 0.02%.

In a key development, it was revealed that country borrowed $6.899 billion from multiple financing sources during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2023-24 compared to $7.764 billion borrowed during the same period of 2022-23, according to Economic Affairs Division (EAD) data.

Globally, the US dollar nursed its wounds on Wednesday following big tumbles against the euro and sterling, but the yen remained mired near 34-year lows even as Japanese officials stepped up intervention warnings.

The dollar’s broad overnight losses were driven by a combination of surprisingly robust European activity data and cooling US business growth

The US dollar index – which measures the currency against six major peers including the euro, sterling and yen – edged 0.07% lower to 105.60 in early Asian trading after slumping 0.4% overnight and touching the lowest level since April 12 at 105.23.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, steadied above $88 a barrel on Wednesday after rallying in the previous session on a surprise fall in US crude stocks and a drop in business activity in the world’s largest oil consumer.

Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.27%, to $88.18 a barrel by 1024 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $83.03 a barrel.

That reversed some of Brent’s roughly 1.6% gain from the previous session, when the market was also buoyed by a weaker U.S. dollar and as investors dialed down concerns over the conflict in the Middle East.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID                            Rs 278.39

OFFER                      Rs 278.59

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 1.00 paisa for buying and 5.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 277.19 and 279.82, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.04 rupee for buying and 1.13 rupee for selling, closing at 294.04 and 296.85, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 2.00 paisa for buying and 1.00 paisa for selling, closing at 75.00 and 75.73, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 1.00 paisa for buying and 3.00 paisa for selling, closing at 73.26 and 73.95, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID                            Rs 277.19

OFFER                      Rs 279.82