Little changes were seen on the money market on Monday as the rupee sustained its overnight levels against dollar in the process of trading activity, dealers said.
In the first Asian trade, the dollar found broad support on Monday as global political uncertainty and fears over a widening of the Sino-US trade war kept investors in safe harbours ahead of a slew of global economic indicators this week.
The greenback was steady against most major currencies. It held firm on the Japanese yen at 108.93 per dollar and sterling at $1.2287, while easing very slightly against the euro to $1.0932.
It gained against riskier, trade-exposed currencies such as the Australian dollar and the Chinese yuan. The biggest loser was the New Zealand dollar, which fell half a percentage point as business confidence hit its weakest in more than 11 years.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 70.650, the greenback was at 4.185 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 7.125 versus the Chinese yuan.
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Open Bid Rs.156.00
Open Offer Rs.156.50
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Bid Rate Rs.156.15
Offer Rate Rs.156.20
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Amidst lack of buyers' interest in the market, the greenback could not sustain and ended lower for buying and selling at Rs 156.10 and Rs 156.50 against the previous closing trend of Rs 156.20 and Rs 156.70 respectively, local currency dealers said.
Likewise, the national currency also followed the suit in relation to the pound sterling. The pound's buying and selling rates drastically declined from the Saturday's closing of Rs 193.00 and Rs196.00 to Rs 191.55 and Rs 192.90 respectively, they added.
The dollar opened at Rs 156.60(buying) and Rs 156.70 (selling) against last rate of Rs 156.70 (buying) and Rs 156.80 (selling).
It closed at Rs 156.60 (buying) and Rs 156.70 (selling). The buying and selling rates of one tola of gold were Rs. 69,100 (selling) and Rs 69,000 (buying) in the local Sarafa (gold) markets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.