Rupee records marginal improvement against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Friday.

At close, the rupee settled at 279.21, a gain of Re0.05 against the greenback.

The rupee had closed at 279.26 on Thursday.

Internationally, the US dollar and major currencies steadied on Friday, as traders assessed the potential impact of Washington’s reciprocal tariffs which will not be immediately implemented, while a US producer price report eased inflation concerns.

US President Donald Trump directed his economic team on Thursday to formulate plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country that imposes taxes on US imports.

Although the tariffs would not be implemented immediately, they could be enforced within weeks as Trump’s trade and economic team studies bilateral tariff and trade relationships, a White House official said.

The delayed implementation buoyed expectations that there may yet be room for countries to negotiate.

Futures traders have about 33 basis points of cuts priced in for this year. That is up from 29 basis points before Thursday’s data, but down from 37 basis points before the CPI data was released on Wednesday.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a handful of peers, was nearly flat at 107.07.

US Treasury yields declined as investors took comfort in the PPI numbers, helping the yen to claw back most of its losses after weakening to 154.80 on Wednesday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Friday, poised to end three weeks of decline, buoyed by rising fuel demand and expectations that US plans for global reciprocal tariffs would not come into effect until April, giving more time to avoid a trade war.

Brent futures were up 44 cents, or 0.6%, at $75.46 a barrel by 0755 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 37 cents, or 0.5%, to $71.66.

For the week, both contracts were headed for gains of about 1%.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 279.21

OFFER                      Rs 279.41

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and 3 paise for selling against USD, closing at 278.73 and 281.07, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 85 paise for buying and 57 paise for selling, closing at 291.09 and 293.81, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 1 paisa for buying and gained 1 paisa for selling, closing at 75.99 and 76.54, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 1 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 74.24 and 74.79, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 278.73

OFFER                      Rs 281.07