RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee continued its marginal gains against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.
The local unit closed the day at 276.91, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee settled at 276.92 against the dollar.
Internationally, the US dollar headed for its first weekly fall in five weeks on Friday, lifting the euro from a 17-month low as wobbles in AI investment and drop in US yields put the brakes on recent gains.
Moves in the Asian morning were slight, leaving the dollar down 0.2 percent this week at 158.13 yen and shedding about 0.1 percent to USD1.1210 per euro.
The reversal has come not a moment too soon for the common currency, which over the previous five weeks had dropped more than 3 percent on the dollar on jitters about France’s growing debt pile and a winter energy squeeze.
With the market positioned long in dollars, more AI wobbles could unwind that and push the dollar down further.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major peers, was at 102.07, set for a 0.14 percent drop in the week. Sterling was steady at USD1.3270 for a weekly rise of 0.3 percent, helped by data showing Britain’s economy unexpectedly grew 0.1 percent in August.
The New Zealand dollar looked likely to scratch out a weekly gain of 0.1 percent at USD0.5621.
The Australian dollar was flat at USD0.6921 and an outlier in heading for a fall of 0.8 percent on the dollar this week, after a surprisingly soft jobs report on Thursday had markets paring back expectations for another rise in interest rates.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, steadied on Friday and were heading for weekly gains on uncertainty over Middle East supplies and a larger-than-expected draw from US crude stockpiles, while European diesel margins dropped after an IEA move to release more of the fuel.
Brent crude futures were flat at USD105.92 a barrel at 1311 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 22 cents, or 0.2 percent, to USD97.75.
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR gained 4 paise for buying and 13 paise for selling against USD, closing at 277.47 and 278.64, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 75 paise for buying and 71 paise for selling, closing at 311.34 and 314.17, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and gained 1 paisa for selling, closing at 75.57 and 76.16, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 3 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 73.87 and 74.40, respectively.
LAHORE
The Pakistani rupee stayed firm against the US dollar while losing ground versus the British pound in the local currency market on Friday, the last business day of the week.
Local currency dealers said the rupee showed firmness after the open and subsequently fared better against the British unit during early trading hours. Dealers stated they also witnessed a positive trading activity during the intraday trading. However, following pressure the rupee showed depressing signs during the last session but ended the day with a stable note, they added.
At the closing bell, the rupee’s buying rate against the US dollar stood unchanged at Rs 278.30 while selling value changed to 279.50 from Rs279.20.
Against the British pound, the rupee’s buying and selling rates closed at Rs 369.25 and Rs 371.80, respectively compared with Thursday’s value at Rs 367.10 and 370.00, respectively.
