Pakistan rupee registers marginal gain against US dollar

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

At close, the local currency settled at 278.11, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Friday, the rupee closed at 278.12 against the dollar.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government intended to gradually reduce its reliance on commercial banks for financing by broadening access to government securities through digital investment platforms.

Speaking at the launch of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) InvestPak Portal, Aurangzeb termed the portal the “beginning of a new era of investment”.

The central bank launched the InvestPak Portal as a digital investment platform designed to streamline and digitise the process of investing in government securities for both individual and corporate investors.

Aurangzeb said diversifying the government’s investor base was a key policy objective, alongside accelerating Pakistan’s digital transformation.

Internationally, the US dollar steadied near ​a two-week low on Monday as investors scaled back bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year, ‌while the yen remained pinned near a 40-year low, keeping investors nervous about what Tokyo might do next.

The euro was at $1.1435, not far from its strongest level in two weeks, while sterling last bought $1.3351.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other units, ​was at 100.9 in early trading.

The yen was at 161.57 per US dollar, just off the 1986 ​low of 162.84 it touched last week, as traders remain nervous about possible intervention after a sudden surge in buying ⁠briefly lifted the currency on Thursday.

The South Korean won firmed a touch on the first day of its historic ​24-hour onshore spot dollar-won trading. It was fetching 1,534 per dollar.

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, trading around pre-Iran war levels ‌as Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling prices, OPEC+ approved another production target increase starting in August, and exports through the Strait of Hormuz recovered further.

Brent crude futures , which hit a four-year high above $126 in late April, were trading at $72.19 a barrel at 11:26 am ET (1626 GMT), up 7 cents, or 0.1%. U.S. West Texas ​Intermediate crude was at $68.81 a barrel, up 12 cents, or 0.2%.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Monday

BID Rs 278.11

OFFER Rs 278.31

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 3 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling against USD, closing at 278.75 and 279.38, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 17 paise for buying and 24 paise for selling, closing at 318.68 and 321.88, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 4 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 75.99 and 76.57, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 6 paise for buying and gained 1 paisa for selling, closing at 74.35 and 74.87, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Monday

BID Rs 278.75

OFFER Rs 279.38