Rupee falls marginally against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal decline, depreciating 0.06% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday.

At close, the currency settled at 278.5, a loss of Re0.16, against the greenback.

During the previous week, the rupee decreased marginally as it lost Re0.21 or 0.07% against the US dollar. The local unit closed at 278.34 against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

In recent months, the domestic currency has largely been around 277-279 against the dollar as traders have an eye on some strong positive indicators.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not yet included Pakistan on the agenda of its executive board meetings scheduled till July 31.

In a press conference on Sunday, Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb said China would support Pakistan’s negotiation with the IMF and would play its role in securing approval from the Fund’s board.

He said that Pakistan opted for the IMF programme to bring micro-stability in the country and China would support Pakistan in securing approval for the IMF agreement.

Globally, the Japanese yen strengthened against the US dollar as an escalation in Middle-East tensions rignited safe-haven demand for the Japanese currency.

The dollar was last down 0.17% at 153.51 yen after slipping as much as 0.35% initially.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave rates unchanged this week, but cut them by a quarter point at the following meeting in September.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against the yen, euro, sterling and six other major peers, fell 0.19% to 104.17.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were stable on Monday as fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East after a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights put a floor under last week’s price losses.

Brent crude futures gained 7 cents, or 0.09%, to $81.20 a barrel at 1007 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 1 cent, or 0.01%, to $77.17.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Monday

BID Rs 278.50

OFFER Rs 278.70

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 31.00 paisa for buying and 85.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 278.81 and 280.60, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 30.00 paisa for buying and 34.00 paisa for selling, closing at 300.55 and 303.46, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 5.00 paisa for buying and 6.00 paisa for selling, closing at 75.60 and 76.34, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 5.00 paisa for buying and 4.00 paisa for selling, closing at 73.85 and 74.56, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Monday

BID Rs 278.81

OFFER Rs 280.60