The Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
At close, the local currency settled at 278.95 against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 278.96.
The central bank has received funds of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, it confirmed on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb informed that Saudi Arabia had committed deposits of $3 billion. He further stated that the existing $5 billion Saudi deposit would no longer remain subject to the earlier annual rollover arrangement and would instead be extended for three years.
Internationally, US dollar held near its lowest level since early March against major currencies on Thursday.
The euro stood at $1.1808 and the sterling traded at $1.3569 , both up about 0.1% for the day to hover near their highest level since February.
The dollar index, which measures the currency’s strength against six major peers, was steady at 98.027. It declined for eight straight sessions through Wednesday to give up most of the gains sparked by the Iran war, as a tentative ceasefire revived appetite for riskier currencies.
“Markets are now basically looking past the conflict and pricing that there’s going to be some kind of settlement,” said Khoon Goh, the head of Asia research at ANZ.
“As markets are pricing out the war premium, we could see the dollar coming under further pressure and resuming the downtrend that has been established since basically last year.”
Oil prices rose on Thursday as the market questioned whether peace talks between the US and Iran would resolve disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies caused by their ongoing war.
Brent crude futures climbed $3.48, or 3.7%, to $98.41 a barrel by 12:01 p.m. ET (1601 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $2.22, or 2.4%, to $93.51 a barrel.
Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday
BID Rs 278.95
OFFER Rs 279.15
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained 2 paise for buying and 5 paise for selling against USD, closing at 279.41 and 280.23, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 6 paise for buying and 25 paise for selling, closing at 328.46 and 331.92, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 76.01 and 76.94, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 4 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 74.23 and 75.06, respectively.
Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday
BID Rs 279.41
OFFER Rs 280.23
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