Pakistan rupee gains further, breaches Rs278 against dollar

The Pakistani rupee extended its gains against the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening past Rs278 to its highest level in 19 months.

The local unit closed the day at 277.97, a gain of Re0.03 or 0.01% against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 278.00 against the dollar.

The US dollar hovered near a one-month ​low on Thursday, as soft inflation data reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve can stay ‌patient on interest rate hikes.

The greenback slipped against the Japanese yen for the third trading session, by 0.1% to 162.075 yen . The euro was 0.1% higher at $1.1472, ​its strongest in a month.

The US dollar index, which tracks the currency against ​six peers, was little changed at 100.47, hovering near its lowest since June 18. It has fallen ​0.8% over the previous two sessions and is on track for a weekly decline.

Oil prices ​rose more than 1% on Thursday as concerns over energy supplies increased after the Iran war ‌escalated with intensifying strikes in the Middle East and as Tehran asked Yemen’s Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route.

Brent crude futures were up 93 cents, or 1.09%, to $85.88 a barrel at 1420 GMT, while U.S. West Texas ​Intermediate futures were up 89 cents, or 1.12%, to $80.49 a barrel.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID Rs 277.97

OFFER Rs 278.17

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 3 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling against USD, closing at 278.87 and 279.68, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.11 rupee for buying and 1.05 rupee for selling, closing at 320.59 and 323.52, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 5 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 76.22 and 76.78, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 1 paisa for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 74.56 and 75.07, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID Rs 278.87

OFFER Rs 279.68