Rupee remains largely stable against US dollar

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

At close, the currency settled at 277.75, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

During the previous week, the rupee registered a marginal decline as it depreciated by Re0.09 or 0.03% against the US dollar.

The local unit closed at 277.76, against 277.67 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Globally, the US dollar relinquished a little of its recent gains on Monday as the pick for US Treasury secretary seemed to reassure the bond market and pulled yields lower, shaving some of the currency’s rate advantage.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries slipped to 4.351%, from 4.412% late Friday, as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of fund manager Scott Bessent was welcomed by the bond market as an old Wall Street hand and a fiscal conservative.

However, Bessent has also been openly in favour of a strong dollar and has supported tariffs, suggesting any pullback in the currency might be fleeting.

The US dollar was likely due some consolidation having risen for eight weeks in a row for only the third time this century and many technical indicators were flashing overbought.

The index was last down 0.5% at 106.950, having hit a two-year peak of 108.090 on Friday. The dollar dipped 0.4% on the Japanese yen to 154.11, and further away from its recent peak of 156.76.

Markets also priced in more aggressive easing from the European Central Bank, with the probability of a half-point rate cut in December rising to 59%.

At the same time, futures scaled back the chance of a quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve in December to 52%, compared to 72% a month ago.

Markets now imply 154 basis points of ECB easing by the end of next year, compared to just 65 basis points from the Fed.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, slipped on Monday following 6% gains last week, but supply worries amid mounting tensions between Western powers and major oil producers Russia and Iran kept a floor under prices.

Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.57%, to $74.74 a barrel by 0705 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $70.73 a barrel, down 51 cents, or 0.73%.

Both contracts last week notched their biggest weekly gains since late September to reach their highest settlement levels since Nov. 7 after Russia fired a hypersonic missile at Ukraine in a warning to the United States and Britain following strikes by Kyiv on Russia using US and British weapons.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Monday

BID                            Rs 277.75

OFFER                      Rs 277.95

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 1 paisa for buying and lost 2 paise for selling against USD, closing at 276.97 and 278.79, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.98 rupee for buying and 1.99 rupee for selling, closing at 288.85 and 291.61, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and gained 3 paise for selling, closing at 75.26 and 75.97, respectively.

Against the Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and gained 2 paise for selling, closing at 73.52 and 74.18, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Monday

BID                            Rs 276.97

OFFER                      Rs 278.79