Rupee records marginal improvement against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At close, the currency settled at 277.74, a gain of Re0.11 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 277.85, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Globally, the US dollar stood at a one-year high against major peers on Thursday and headed for a fifth straight daily gain fuelled by higher yields and Donald Trump’s election victory.

The greenback climbed above 156 yen for the first time since July.

Higher trade tariffs and tighter immigration under the incoming Trump administration are projected to fuel inflation, potentially slowing the Federal Reserve’s rate cutting cycle longer term.

Expectations for deeper deficit spending are lifting Treasury yields, providing the dollar with additional support.

Cryptocurrency bitcoin also shot to a fresh record high of $93,480 overnight, and was rising back towards that level in Asia’s day.

The US dollar index, which measures the currency against six top counterparts including the euro and yen, added 0.2% to 106.69, its highest since early November 2023.

The dollar had dipped briefly on Wednesday after a measure of US consumer inflation met economists’ forecasts, keeping the Fed on track to reduce rates at their meeting in December.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, slipped in early trade on Thursday, reversing most of the previous session’s gains on a stronger dollar and worries of higher global output amid slow demand growth forecasts.

Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $71.83 a barrel by 0726 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures declined 48 cents, or 0.7%, to $67.95.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID                            Rs 277.74

OFFER                      Rs 277.94

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 6 paise for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 276.96 and 278.74, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 2.44 rupees for buying and 2.43 rupees for selling, closing at 290.24 and 293.01, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 75.27 and 75.96, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 73.52 and 74.16, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID                            Rs 276.96

OFFER                      Rs 278.74