Rupee inches up against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar on Friday.

The local unit closed the day at 277.80, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee settled at 277.81 against the dollar.

Globally, the US dollar rose as much as 0.8% to 160.690 against the Japanese yen in early trades on Friday, after diving 2.4% in its biggest single-day drop since January 2023 in the previous session.

Japan conducted yen-buying, dollar-selling market intervention in the New York session overnight, a market source told Reuters, pulling the sagging currency from four-decade lows.

In a rare coordinated move, South Korea also conducted dollar-selling intervention on Thursday, a market source told Reuters.

The won rose to a nine-month high before giving back some of its gains, with the Asian currency last at 1,434.26 per US dollar in early trading, down more than 0.7%.

All eyes are now on the BOJ, which is widely expected to keep short-term interest rates steady at 1%, having just hiked in ⁠June, while delivering a hawkish signal as price pressures mount.

The BOJ meeting follows the US Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged, which bruised the dollar ⁠as traders questioned whether the Fed’s new chief was serious about containing inflation.

That has left the dollar on the defensive. The US dollar index , which tracks the currency against six major peers, was a touch higher at 100.12 after plunging 0.8% in the previous session. It was heading for a ⁠1.3% drop for the week and a 1% loss for the month.

Oil prices rose on Friday and remained on track for a monthly increase as ‌reports that some tankers were forced to turn around in the Strait of Hormuz prompted traders to reassess shipping flows through the key waterway.

Brent futures were up $1.31, or 1.47%, at $90.34 a barrel by 1329 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $1.95, or 2.33%, to $85.54 ​a barrel.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 277.80

OFFER Rs 278.00

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 6 paise for buying and gained 3 paise for selling against USD, closing at 278.93 and 279.85, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 77 paise for buying and 89 paise for selling, closing at 321.63 and 324.83, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 8 paise for buying and 6 paise for selling, closing at 76.27 and 76.91, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 10 paise for buying and 4 paise for selling, closing at 74.56 and 75.18, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 278.93

OFFER Rs 279.85