Rupee gains ground against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

At close, the local currency settled at 279.05, a gain of Re0.01, against the greenback.

On Tuesday, the local unit closed at 279.06.

Meanwhile, the US dollar sank to its lowest ​level in a month while the euro, yen, Aussie and kiwi ‌rallied hard in Asian trading on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

The yen strengthened 0.7% ​against the greenback to 158.50 per dollar. The euro was ​up 0.7% at $1.1677, while the British pound appreciated 0.8% to $1.3403.

The ⁠Australian dollar climbed 1.2% to $0.7063 and its New Zealand counterpart jumped 1.1% to $0.5795.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, weakened for a third consecutive ⁠day ​to 98.943, the lowest since March ​11.

Cryptocurrencies rallied, with bitcoin advancing 3.2% to $71,514.03, and ether climbing 5.7% to $2,235.35.

Moreover, oil fell below $100 per barrel on Wednesday.

Brent futures fell $14.51, or 13.3%, to $94.76 a barrel at 0330 GMT, while WTI slid $17.16, or 15.2%, to $95.79 a barrel.

The US-Israeli war with Iran saw the steepest monthly oil price rise in history in March of more than 50%.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID Rs 279.05

OFFER Rs 279.25

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 7 paise for buying and 19 paise for selling against USD, closing at 279.50 and 280.32, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 3.96 rupees for buying and 4.31 rupees for selling, closing at 325.81 and 329.11, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 7 paise for buying and 8 paise for selling, closing at 76.09 and 76.95, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 12 paise for buying and 14 paise for selling, closing at 74.44 and 75.21, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID Rs 279.50

OFFER Rs 280.32