Rupee slips lower against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At close, the currency settled at 277.95, a loss of Re0.06 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 277.89, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Internationally, the US dollar hung just off a four-month high on Thursday as the market continued to digest Republican Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election, while investors eyed several central bank decisions that will be topped off by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points later in the day, and the market focus will be on any clues suggesting the US central bank could skip a cut in December.

Last week’s October jobs report came in weaker than expected, raising questions over the degree of softness in the labour market, though this data was clouded by the impact of recent hurricanes and labour strikes.

The Fed’s decision comes on the back of the US presidential election, with a victory by Trump fuelling questions over whether the bank may proceed to reduce rates at a slower and shallower pace.

Markets now see about a 70% chance the Fed will also cut rates next month, down from 77% on Tuesday, according to the CME Group’s Fed Watch Tool.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, slipped on Thursday, extending a sell-off triggered by the U.S. presidential election, as a strong dollar and lower crude imports in China outweighed supply risks from a Trump presidency and output cuts caused by Hurricane Rafael.

Donald Trump’s election win initially triggered a sell-off that pushed oil down more than $2 as the dollar rallied. But crude prices later pared losses to settle at a less than 1% decline by the end of Wednesday’s session.

Brent crude oil futures fell 48 cents, or 0.6%, to $74.44 a barrel by 1040 GMT on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 61 cents, or 0.9%, to $71.08.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID                            Rs 277.95

OFFER                      Rs 278.15

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 4 paise for buying and 9 paise for selling against USD, closing at 276.96 and 278.88, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 72 paise for buying and 64 paise for selling, closing at 296.97 and 299.77, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 6 paise for buying and 4 paise for selling, closing at 75.32 and 76.01, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 4 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 73.56 and 74.20, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID                            Rs 276.96

OFFER                      Rs 278.88