Declining trend was seen on the money market on Thursday as the rupee failed to keep firm trend versus the dollar in process of trading activity, dealers said. The rupee shed its value against the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 141.39 and Rs 141.40 respectively, they said.
In the fourth Asian trade, the dollar hovered near a six-week low versus the yen on Thursday, weighed down against the safe-haven Japanese peer as risk aversion gripped broader markets amid concerns the US-China trade conflict could escalate.
Markets were nervously awaiting the start of two-day trade talks in Washington later in the global day to see if Chinese negotiators can convince the White House to back down on a threatened tariff hike on Friday.
The US currency stood at 109.910 yen after going as low as 109.70 overnight, its weakest since March 25.
The Japanese currency, which has advanced against a number of peers, tends to attract demand in times of political strife and market turmoil.
This week, expectations that the United States and China would reach an agreement soon to end their trade war have been upended, sending investors fleeing from riskier assets. Global stocks have retreated and government bonds have surged.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 69.848, the greenback was at 4.150 versus the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 6.810 in terms of the Chinese yuan.
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Open Bid Rs.141.30
Open Offer Rs.141.80
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Bid Rate Rs.141.39
Offer Rate Rs.141.40
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According to currency dealers, the short supply phenomenon of the US dollar prevailed throughout the trading session which helped its appreciation for buying and selling at Rs 141.65 and Rs 142.20 against the opening trend of Rs 141.40 and Rs 141.80 respectively.
On the contrary, the rupee continued to keep going up for the second consecutive day against the pound sterling. The pound's buying and selling rates further slid from the Wednesday's closing of Rs 182.70 and Rs 184.00 to Rs 182.60 and Rs 183.80 respectively, they added.
The dollar opened at Rs 141.20(buying) and Rs 141.30(selling) against last rate of Rs 141.10(buying) and Rs 141.20(selling). It closed at Rs 141.20(buying) and Rs 141.30(selling).
The buying and selling rates of one tola of gold was Rs. 66,800 (selling) and Rs 66,600(buying) in the local Sarafa (gold) markets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.