RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
At close, the local currency settled at 279.81, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
On Tuesday, the local unit closed at 279.82.
Internationally, the US dollar was grappling with a “crisis of confidence” as it struggled near four-year lows on Wednesday after President Donald Trump brushed off its recent weakness, exacerbating the dollar selling and lifting the yen, euro and sterling.
The euro breached past the USD1.2 level for the first time since 2021 and was at USD1.2015, a tad weaker on the day, while sterling was also near its highest level since 2021 at USD1.3823 in early Asian hours.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major rivals, was at 95.964 after dropping over 1% in the previous session when it hit a four-year low of 95.566.
Trump said on Tuesday the value of the dollar was “great”, when asked whether he thought it had declined too much. Traders took his comments as a signal to sell the greenback aggressively.
Trump’s comments were not exactly new, but they came at a time when the dollar had been under pressure as traders braced for a possible coordinated currency intervention by US and Japanese authorities to stabilise the yen.
The dollar tumbled over 9 percent in 2025 and has started the year on the back foot, already down about 2.3 percent in January as Trump’s erratic approach to trade and international diplomacy, fears over the Federal Reserve’s independence, and huge increases in public spending rattled investors.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, hit their highest since late September on Wednesday after a winter storm disrupted US crude output while a weak US dollar and continued Kazakh outages lent further support.
At 1302 GMT, Brent crude futures ticked up 38 cents, or 0.6 percent, at USD67.95 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 37 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $62.76. Both grades are headed for their biggest monthly rises in percentage ?terms since July 2023, with Brent set to rise around 12 percent and WTI around 10 percent.
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling against USD, closing at 280.23 and 280.88, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 2.74 rupees for buying and 2.93 rupees for selling, closing at 335.26 and 338.52, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and lost 1 paisa for selling, closing at 76.50 and 77.31, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 1 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 74.81 and 75.42, respectively.
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Open Bid Rs 280.23
Open Offer Rs 280.88
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Interbank Closing Rates: Interbank Closing Rates For Dollar on Wednesday
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Open Bid Rs 279.81
Open Offer Rs 280.01
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RUPEE IN LAHORE: The Pakistani rupee continued to stay flat against the US dollar while declined as compared to the British pound, amid moderate trade activity in the local currency market on Wednesday.
Currency dealers said that the rupee opened with a firm note and in early session depicted weakness against the greenback. However, later activity picked up and it moved in upward direction in intraday trading, finally closing a firm note. Dealers quoted its buying and selling rates as Rs 280.00 and Rs 280.85, respectively against previous day’s Rs 279.50 and Rs 281.00, respectively.
The rupee, however, drifted lower against the British unit, with its buying and selling rates closing at Rs 385.00 and 389.00, respectively against Rs 382.50 against 386.50, respectively of Tuesday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
