The Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.
At close, the local currency settled at 278.85, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
On Thursday, the local unit closed at 278.86.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is scheduled to hold the third Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2026 on April 27 to review the key policy rate amid evolving macroeconomic and external conditions.
Moreover, the dollar was on track for its first weekly gain in three weeks on Friday.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was little changed at 98.82 and remained on track for a weekly gain of 0.58%. The euro was flat at $1.1683, while sterling edged down 0.02% to $1.3464.
“Oil and the dollar are still moving pretty closely together, and with crude creeping back up … I’d say the dollar is still staying fairly firm,” said Sho Suzuki, a market analyst at Matsui Securities.
On the other hand, oil prices rose on Friday due to fears of a renewed military escalation in the Middle East after Iran released footage of commandos boarding a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and on reports that Tehran’s air defences had engaged “hostile targets.”
Oil turned negative on Friday after a Pakistani government source said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday night with a small team and peace talks with the U.S. were likely to take place.
Earlier in the session, crude was up more than 2% on concerns of a renewed military escalation in the region after Iran released footage of commandos boarding a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, and a lack of progress in re-opening the key waterway.
However, speculation that diplomacy could resume prompted prices to pare gains, analysts said.
By 1203 GMT, Brent crude futures were down 79 cents, or 0.8%, at $104.28, and US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 95 cents or 1% to $94.90.
Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday
BID Rs 278.85
OFFER Rs 279.05
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained 4 paisa for buying and remained unchanged for selling against USD, closing at 279.35 and 280.17, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 20 paise for buying and 12 paise for selling, closing at 326.02 and 329.21, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and lost 2 paise for selling, closing at 76.04 and 76.87, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 2 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 74.31 and 75.04, respectively.
Open-market rates for dollar on Friday
BID Rs 279.35
OFFER Rs 280.17