THE RUPEE: easier trend

Declining trend was witnessed on the money market as the rupee lost modestly in relation to the dollar during the week, ended on November 25, 2017. The rupee dropped modestly against the dollar during the week, but it is most likely that the rupee may move both ways in the coming days, experts said. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided to keep rate unchanged at 5.75 percent, they observed.
OPEN MARKET RATE: The rupee slipped by 10 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.30 and Rs 107.50.
The rupee fell sharply against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 127.50 and Rs 128.75.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: The rupee shed five paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 105.50 and Rs 105.52.
OPEN MARKET RATES: On Monday, the rupee was unchanged against the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.20 and Rs 107.40, they said.
The rupee appreciated by 20 paisas in terms of the euro for buying and selling at Rs 126.00 and Rs 127.25, they said.
On Tuesday, the rupee was unchanged against the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.20 and Rs 107.40, they said. The rupee maintained rising trend in terms of the euro, gaining 75 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 125.75 and Rs 126.75, they said.
On Wednesday, the rupee held the overnight levels against the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.20 and Rs 107.40. The rupee almost sustained the overnight levels in terms of the euro for buying and selling at Rs 125.75 and Rs 126.75.
On Thursday, the rupee adopted the same pattern against the dollar in the inter-bank market, losing 10 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 107.30 and Rs 107.50. The rupee tumbled with sharp losses in terms of the euro, dropping Rs 1.05 for buying and selling at Rs 126.80 and Rs 128.05.
On Friday, the rupee did not show any change versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.30 and Rs 107.50.
The rupee extended overnight slide in terms of the euro, dropping 60 paisas for buying at Rs 127.50 and the national currency slid by Rs 1.6 for selling Rs 128.75.
On Saturday, the rupee did not show any change versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 107.30 and Rs 107.50.
The rupee extended overnight slide in terms of the euro, dropping 60 paisas for buying at Rs 127.50 and the national currency slid by Rs 1.60 for selling Rs 128.75.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: On October 20, the rupee shed one paisa versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 105.46 and Rs 105.47. On 21st, the rupee dropped by one paisa more versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 105.47 and Rs 105.48.
On 22nd Nov, the rupee did not show any visible change versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 105.47 and Rs 105.48.
On November 23rd, the rupee shed three paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 105.49 and Rs 105.51. On November 24, the rupee shed one paisa in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 105.50 and Rs 105.52.
OVERSEAS OUTLOOK FOR DOLLAR: In the first Asian trade, the euro hit a two-month low against the yen on Monday, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel's efforts to form a three-way coalition government failed, stoking political uncertainty in the euro zone's largest economy.
Merkel, whose conservatives were weakened after they won an election in September with a reduced number of seats, said she would inform the German president that she could not form a coalition, after the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) withdrew from negotiations.
The development leaves Germany with two unprecedented options in the post-World War Two era: Merkel forms a minority government, or the president calls a new election if no government is formed.
The euro slid broadly in early Asian trade after the break down of the German coalition talks, but later pared some of its losses.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 65.11, the greenback was at 4.155 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 6.636 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Monday: 81.25-81.30 (previous 81.20-81.20).
In the second Asian trade, The dollar gave back some of its gains in Asian trading on Tuesday but stuck close to a one-week high against a basket of currencies as a German political deadlock continued to pressure the euro.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rival currencies, dipped 0.1 percent to 94.029, but was still within sight of its overnight peak of 94.104, its highest since November 14.
The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.1739, nursing losses after dropping to $1.1722 in the previous session after German coalition government talks collapsed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose conservative bloc lost seats in September's election, said she would inform the German president that she could not form a coalition, after the pro-business Free Democrats withdrew from negotiations.
Merkel said she would prefer a new election to ruling with a minority, but Germany's president told the parties they owed it to voters to try to form a government.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 65.02, the greenback was at 4.142 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 6.636 versus the Chinese yuan. Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Tuesday: 81.40-81.40 (previous 81.25-81.30).
In the third Asian trade, the dollar treaded water against its peers on Wednesday, capped as US Treasury yields failed to rise despite increasing investor risk appetite in broader financial markets.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was little changed at 93.941. The index fell back from a one-week high of 94.165 overnight after a rally triggered earlier this week by a sagging euro stalled as long-term US Treasury yields continued inching lower.
The greenback was a shade lower at 112.280 yen, after slipping overnight from a high of 112.705.
"The dollar should be getting more of a lift against the yen in this 'risk on' environment. But what is taking precedence is the adjustment of positions before the Thanksgiving and year-end holidays by participants, resulting in the covering of yen shorts," said Yukio Ishizuki, senior currency strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Wall Street shares rose yet again to record highs on Tuesday, while Japan's Nikkei climbed back towards 26-year peaks.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 64.75, the greenback was at 4.121 versus the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 6.621 in relation to the Chinese yuan. Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Tuesday: 81.50-81.60 (previous 81.40-81.40).
In the fourth Asian trade, the dollar touched a two-month low against the yen on Thursday, having tumbled after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed some policymakers were concerned about persistently low inflation in a blow to rate hawks. The dollar eased to as low as 111.07 yen e, its weakest level since September 18. The dollar later came off that low and last fetched 111.29 yen, up 0.1 percent on the day.
Trading conditions were thinner than usual on Thursday, with Japanese financial markets shut for a public holiday. US markets will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The greenback nursed its losses after sliding nearly 1.1 percent against the yen on Wednesday, its biggest one-day drop since mid-May.
The minutes of the Fed's October31-November1 policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that Fed policymakers expect that interest rates will have to be raised in the "near term", reinforcing market expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates in December.
The minutes, however, also highlighted concern among some of the members over the inflation outlook, with the emphasis placed on economic data in determining the timing of future rate rises.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 64.82, the greenback was available at 4.112 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 6.593 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Wednesday: 81.60-81.60 (previous 81.50-81.60).
The dollar wobbled in thin trading on Friday, on track for losses against most rivals in a holiday-shortened week as it remained under pressure on the Federal Reserve's cautious view on low US inflation
US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, which was also a national holiday in Japan.
The dollar skidded on Wednesday after minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting showed some policymakers fretting over stubbornly weak inflation. That led some to question expectations of hikes in 2018.
The core personal consumption expenditures price index has consistently fallen short of the central bank's 2 percent target for over five years, even as the Fed has moved toward normalizing policy.
The index that tracks the dollar against a basket of six major rival currencies was down 0.1 percent at 93.153 and 0.5 percent lower for the week.
The dollar added 0.2 percent against the yen to 111.46, pulling away from Thursday's two-month low of 111.07 yen, though it was still down 0.5 percent for the week.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 64.58, the greenback was available at 4.116 versus the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 6.576 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
In the final Asian trade, the dollar fell to its lowest since late September against a basket of currencies on Friday as investors grew optimistic about the strength of the euro zone's recovery and lost appetite for the greenback.
The euro hit its highest since September 25 against the dollar, up 0.65 percent on the day and more than 1 percent for the week. It was the single currency's third straight week of gains, its best run since July, and second straight 1 percent weekly gain.
Against the Japanese yen, the euro rose more than 1 percent to 1.3323, its highest since November 16.
"You had good data (this week) from Europe, pretty good news from Germany and nobody guarding the dollar as we're all eating turkey," said John Doyle, director of markets at Tempus Inc in Washington.
On Thanksgiving Thursday, while markets in the US were closed, euro zone business growth surveys showed surprise growth, supporting the European Central Bank (ECB) move last month to announce a throttling back of its monetary stimulus.
The currency bloc's latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) readings suggest the upturn still has momentum.