THE RUPEE: Firm trend

The rupee held the present levels against the dollar on the money market on Saturday in the process of trading, dealers said.

OPEN MARKET RATES: The rupee sustained overnight levels versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.40 and Rs 154.70 respectively, while it recovered sharply against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 170.50 and Rs 172.50, they said.

In the first US trade, the dollar slipped against a basket of currencies on Friday as the announcement of an initial China-US trade deal and an election victory for Britain's Brexit-backing Conservative Party appeared to clear the fog on the global investment horizon, sapping safe-haven demand for the greenback.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese officials said on Friday that they have agreed to a "phase one" trade deal that included cutting American tariffs on Chinese goods.

The two countries have reached an agreement where Washington would suspend tariffs on Chinese imports scheduled for Sunday, while Beijing would step up purchases of US agricultural products.

But they offered no specific details on the amount of US agricultural goods Beijing had agreed to buy, a key sticking point of the lengthy deal negotiations.

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Open Bid       Rs 154.40
Open Offer     Rs 154.70
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RUPEE IN LAHORE: The Pak rupee showed stability and remained unchanged against the US dollar amid sluggish trading trend in the local currency market on Saturday.

According to the currency dealers, the dollar resumed trading at its day earlier closing of Rs 154.40 and Rs155.00 as its buying and selling rate, respectively. The dollar did not observe any change in its demand and supply situation that helped rupee stability. The opening rates continued to prevail throughout the trading day, the dealers said.

The local currency staged recovery and appreciated its worth against the pound sterling. Due to lacking interest on the part of buyers, the pound could not sustain and declined from the overnight closing of Rs 205.50 and Rs 207.00 to Rs 204.00 and Rs 206.50, respectively, they added.

RUPEE IN ISLAMABAD AND RAWALPINDI: The rupee recovered 10 paisas against dollar at the open currency markets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi here on Saturday.

The dollar opened at Rs 155 (buying) and Rs 155.10 (selling) against last rate of Rs 155.10 (buying) and Rs 155.20 (selling).

It closed at Rs 155 (buying) and Rs 155.10 (selling).

The buying and selling rates of one tola of gold were Rs 84,200 (selling) and Rs 84,200 (buying) in the local Sarafa (gold) markets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.