Pakistani rupee registers 26th successive gain against US dollar

Rupee's Performance Against US Dollar Since 04 March 2025

The Pakistani rupee maintained its positive momentum against the US dollar, appreciating marginally in the inter-bank market on Friday.

At close, the rupee settled at 281.55, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback. This was the rupee’s 26th successive gain against the greenback.

On Thursday, the local unit closed at 281.56.

Internationally, the US dollar remained under pressure on Friday as a surge in US jobless claims and a modest tick up in inflation kept investors zeroed in on likely Federal Reserve interest rate cuts next week and beyond.

The dollar index was last trading at 97.585, having snapped a two-day winning streak on Thursday and on track to record its second consecutive weekly decline.

On Thursday, data showed the biggest weekly increase in the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits in four years.

That overshadowed US consumer inflation data for August, which showed prices rising at the fastest pace in seven months but still modest and broadly in line with expectations.

While the mixed data might add some wrinkles to the Fed’s policy deliberations next week, investor focus is mostly centred on rate cut prospects for now.

According to the CME Group’s Fedwatch tool, traders are reining in bets on a jumbo 50 bps rate cut next month. Pricing implies a shallower path of easing before the end of the year than anticipated earlier.

Against the yen, the US dollar was trading flat at 147.27 yen, little changed after the US and Japanese governments issued a joint statement on Friday, which reaffirmed that exchange rates should be “market determined” and that excess volatility and disorderly moves in exchange rates were undesirable.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose by nearly 2% on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian port suspended loadings, outweighing pressure from oversupply concerns and weaker U.S. demand risks.

The drone attack on Russia’s northwestern port of Primorsk - one of the country’s largest oil and fuel export terminals - led to a suspension of oil loading operations overnight, an official from Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters.

“Those attacks on Russian energy infrastructure have room to drag down Russian crude and refined product exports,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Brent crude futures rose $1.02, or 1.5%, to $67.39 a barrel by 1328 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.08, or 1.7%, to $63.45.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 281.55

OFFER                      Rs 281.75

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 8 paise for buying and 9 paise for selling against USD, closing at 282.06 and 282.61, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 21 paise for buying and gained 44 paise for selling, closing at 331.23 and 334.16, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 11 paise for buying and 17 paise for selling, closing at 77.24 and 77.93, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 7 paise for buying and 18 paise for selling, closing at 75.38 and 75.90, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 282.06

OFFER                      Rs 282.61