RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
At close, the local currency settled at 279.96, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 279.97.
Globally, the yen held onto overnight gains on Thursday but was pinned near 18-month lows as traders remained wary of intervention after strong warnings ahead of an election in Japan that could usher in more fiscal stimulus and keep the currency constrained.
The yen fetched 158.554 per dollar in early Asian hours after firming 0.4 percent in the previous session as Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama issued another verbal warning.
The currency though was not far off the 18-month low of 159.45 it touched on Wednesday, and has dropped nearly 5 percent since Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office in October as investors fretted about her spending plans.
The dollar was knocked back at the start of the week after the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called out the Trump administration’s decision to subpoena him, saying it amounted to intimidating the Fed into delivering easier monetary policy.
The greenback has since recovered as traders took the escalation in stride, even though investors remain concerned about the Fed’s independence under President Donald Trump.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was steady at 99.129, near a one-month high it touched on Wednesday. The index was flat for the week. The euro eased to USD 1.1636, while sterling bought USD 1.3636.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, tumbled from multi-month highs on Thursday and gold fell back from a record peak, as investor demand for safe-haven assets subsided on hopes that President Donald Trump was backing away from threats of U.S. military action against Iran.
Tech stocks got a boost from Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s biggest producer of advanced AI chips, which posted a forecast-smashing 35 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit.
Shares in Dutch chip equipment maker ASML hit a record high, which in turn helped push Europe’s STOXX 600 up 0.4 percent, back towards record levels.
Currencies steadied, including the yen, which hit its weakest since July 2024 against the US dollar on Wednesday. It retraced some of that decline after Japanese authorities issued a series of verbal warnings that suggested they may intervene to support the currency.
Trump said on Wednesday afternoon he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, adopting a wait and see posture after earlier threatening intervention.
His statement knocked Brent crude futures down 3.3 percent to USD 64.34 a barrel on Thursday, after they had risen to a high of USD 66.82 the day before.
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 280.38 and 281.00, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 10 paise for buying and 25 paise for selling, closing at 326.50 and 329.50, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 2 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 76.52 and 77.26, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and 3 paise for selling, closing at 74.84 and 75.44, respectively.
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Open Bid Rs 280.38
Open Offer Rs 281.00
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Interbank Closing Rates: Interbank Closing Rates For Dollar on Thursday
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Open Bid Rs 279.96
Open Offer Rs 280.16
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RUPEE IN LAHORE: The Pakistani rupee lost ground on the buying side against the US dollar and the British pound.
According to local market sources, on the buying side, the rupee lost 20 paisa against the dollar, settling at Rs 280.70, compared to the previous closing of Rs 280.50. However, its selling value remained pegged at 281.00, unchanged from the previous day.
Moreover, the local currency also lost ground against the British pound, with the buying rate closing at Rs 377.50, down from Rs 376.50, in the preceding session. However, its selling value remained pegged at 380.00, unchanged from the previous day.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
