Rupee records gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee continued its marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

The local unit closed the day at 276.66, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 276.67 against the dollar.

Internationally, the US dollar held steady against major currencies on Friday, after a sharp selloff in US equities drove investors toward haven assets such as the yen and pushed Treasury yields lower ahead of a closely ​watched government payrolls report.

The trigger for the retreat from risk was a Democratic sweep in ‌Congress that hammered US stocks on Thursday, with the Nasdaq recording its deepest one-day drop since “Liberation Day” in April 2025.

Fears of tighter scrutiny of the artificial intelligence industry, particularly around data centre construction, have roiled global markets this week.

The equity rout prompted investors to ​find shelter in bonds and haven currencies. The yen strengthened 0.2% to a one-week high of ​157.40 a US dollar before reversing some of that gain.

The Swiss franc firmed 0.2% against ⁠the US currency. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, was roughly flat at 101.55.

The euro was flat against the dollar at $1.1222, but poised for a 0.5% rise for the week, ending two weeks of loss.

Next on the agenda is Friday’s US non-farm payrolls report, ​from which investors will ​try to gauge the ⁠Federal Reserve’s rate path. Data on Thursday offered an upbeat prelude, with weekly initial jobless claims falling by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 189,000.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were set for a sharp weekly ​fall after the election losses of US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party raised hopes of a ‌de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and a stock market sell-off, though attacks on vessels in the Middle East continue to provide a floor to crude.

In a whiplash see-saw session on Friday, Brent crude futures for January were up 26 cents, or ​0.3%, at $98.55 a barrel by 1346 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures edged up by 57 ​cents, or 0.6%, to $91.09.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 276.66

OFFER Rs 276.86

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling against USD, closing at 277.31 and 278.47, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 1.69 rupee for buying and 1.43 rupee for selling, closing at 309.63 and 312.77, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and gained 2 paise for selling, closing at 75.54 and 76.13, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 3 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 73.85 and 74.40, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 277.31

OFFER Rs 278.47