Rupee records marginal gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee recorded marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At close, the local currency settled at 280.36, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 280.37.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said it had received about $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

Internationally, the US dollar fell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve delivered an outlook that was not as hawkish as some had anticipated, giving investors confidence to short the currency as they bet on two more rate cuts next year.

The Fed, at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, lowered rates by 25 basis points as expected, but remarks from Chair Jerome Powell at his post-meeting press conference surprised some who had been positioned for a more hawkish tone.

As a result, investors sold the dollar, which in turn pushed the euro above the key $1.17 level and close to a two-month high of $1.1705 in early Asia trade on Thursday.

Sterling touched a 1-1/2-month peak of $1.3391, while the yen , which has recently come under pressure from still-wide interest rate differentials between Japan and the rest of the world, rose 0.25% to 155.64 per dollar.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar fell to its lowest since October 21 at 98.543.

Wednesday’s outcome reinforced market expectations for two more rate cuts next year, against the Fed’s median expectation for a single quarter-percentage-point cut next year.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, eased on Thursday as investors shifted focus back to Russia-Ukraine peace talks and monitored potential fallout from a US seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

Brent crude futures were down 81 cents, or 1.3%, at $61.40 a barrel at 0904 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 78 cents, also 1.3%, to $57.68 a barrel.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID Rs 280.36

OFFER Rs 280.56

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling against USD, closing at 280.86 and 281.40, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.63 rupee for buying and 1.51 rupee for selling, closing at 327.72 and 330.55, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 4 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 76.55 and 77.33, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 74.78 and 75.43, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID Rs 280.86

OFFER Rs 281.40