Rupee's Performance Against US Dollar Since 04 March 2025
The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
At close, the local currency settled at 279.81, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
On Tuesday, the local unit closed at 279.82.
Internationally, the US dollar was grappling with a “crisis of confidence” as it struggled near four-year lows on Wednesday after President Donald Trump brushed off its recent weakness, exacerbating the dollar selling and lifting the yen, euro and sterling.
The euro breached past the $1.2 level for the first time since 2021 and was at $1.2015, a tad weaker on the day, while sterling was also near its highest level since 2021 at $1.3823 in early Asian hours.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major rivals, was at 95.964 after dropping over 1% in the previous session when it hit a four-year low of 95.566.
Trump said on Tuesday the value of the dollar was “great”, when asked whether he thought it had declined too much. Traders took his comments as a signal to sell the greenback aggressively.
Trump’s comments were not exactly new, but they came at a time when the dollar had been under pressure as traders braced for a possible coordinated currency intervention by US and Japanese authorities to stabilise the yen.
The dollar tumbled over 9% in 2025 and has started the year on the back foot, already down about 2.3% in January as Trump’s erratic approach to trade and international diplomacy, fears over the Federal Reserve’s independence, and huge increases in public spending rattled investors.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, hit their highest since late September on Wednesday after a winter storm disrupted US crude output while a weak US dollar and continued Kazakh outages lent further support.
At 1302 GMT, Brent crude futures ticked up 38 cents, or 0.6%, at $67.95 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 37 cents, or 0.6%, at $62.76. Both grades are headed for their biggest monthly rises in percentage terms since July 2023, with Brent set to rise around 12% and WTI around 10%.
Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Wednesday
BID Rs 279.81
OFFER Rs 280.01
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling against USD, closing at 280.23 and 280.88, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 2.74 rupees for buying and 2.93 rupees for selling, closing at 335.26 and 338.52, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and lost 1 paisa for selling, closing at 76.50 and 77.31, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 1 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 74.81 and 75.42, respectively.
Open-market rates for dollar on Wednesday
BID Rs 280.23
OFFER Rs 280.88
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