Intra-day update: rupee registers minor gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered a minor gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.06% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Tuesday.

At 10:10am, the currency was hovering at 277.53, a gain of Re0.18 against the US dollar.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 277.71, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Internationally, the US dollar firmed against its major peers on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against bets on more supersized interest rate cuts.

Powell adopted a more hawkish tone in a speech at a conference in Tennessee, saying the US central bank would likely stick with quarter-percentage-point interest rate cuts moving forward.

“This is not a committee that feels like it is in a hurry to cut rates quickly,” he said.

Traders remain certain that the Fed will cut again at the next policy setting meeting in November, but slashed expectations for a 50 basis-point (bps) reduction to 35.4% from 53.3% a day earlier, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

The dollar index added 0.1% to 100.82 as of 0403 GMT, after pushing 0.3% higher on Monday.

The greenback rose 0.45% to 144.27 yen, after whipsawing from as high as 146.495 yen on Friday to as low as 141.65 yen on Monday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were little changed on Tuesday as stronger supply prospects and tepid global demand growth outweighed worries that escalating tensions in the Middle East could impact output from the key exporting region.

Brent crude futures for December delivery edged up 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $71.77 a barrel as of 0335 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for November delivery gained 8 cents, or 0.12%, to $68.25.

On Monday, Brent futures ended September down 9%, its third month of declines and largest monthly drop since November 2022.

This is an intra-day update