KARACHI: Steadier trend persisted on the money market on Saturday as the rupee sustained it's present levels against the dollar in the process of trading, dealers said. The rupee was unchanged in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.00 and Rs 107.20, they said. It, however, picked up 50 paisas against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 112.50 and Rs 114.00, they said.
Analysts noted that Federal Reserve meeting minutes released on Wednesday reinforced doubts about a rate hike next month since voting members showed much less urgency to tighten credit. The dollar fell as much as 0.6 percent against the safe-haven yen to 111.95 yen. Its first dip below 112 yen since February 9 put the greenback on track for its second straight weekly loss against the Japanese currency, of about 0.8 percent.
"Markets are sort of growing a lot more cautious on prospects for US fiscal stimulus, and consequently I think they are now skeptical of the Fed hiking substantially over the next two years," Vassili Serebriakov, FX strategist at Credit Agricole in New York said.
The euro slipped 0.2 percent against the dollar in afternoon trading to a session low of $1.0558. That put it on course for a 0.5 percent decline since Friday, for the third straight weekly slide. The euro's modest drop helped put the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, on course for its third straight weekly gain.
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Open Bid Rs 107.00
Open Offer Rs 107.20
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According to currency dealers, the dollar demand remained intact that kept the rupee under pressure. The dollar's buying and selling rates rose from the overnight closing rates of Rs 107.15 and Rs 107.50 to Rs 107.20 and Rs 107.60, respectively, they added.
On the contrary, the local currency showed stability as it recovered its day earlier losses against the pound sterling. The pound's buying and selling rates slid from the Friday's closing rates of Rs 133.50 and Rs 134.30 to Rs 132.30 and Rs 133.00, respectively, they said.
The dollar opened at Rs 108.10 (buying) and Rs 108.20 (selling) and the greenback closed at the same rate.
Pound Sterling opened at Rs 130 (buying) and Rs 131.50 (selling). It closed at the same rate.