Rupee falls marginally against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee recorded a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday.

At close, the local unit settled at 279.28, a loss of Re0.08 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On Monday, the rupee regained strength to settle at 279.2 against the US dollar, according to the SBP.

Globally, the US dollar traded on the back foot on Tuesday, as markets looked ahead to a week of US economic data that will provide fresh signals on how soon the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates.

Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin soared to a more than two-year high above $57,000 after enterprise software firm MicroStrategy Inc announced it had bought about 3,000 more of the tokens for $155 million.

The US dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of peers including the euro and yen, traded flat at 103.77 in Asian time, following a 0.17% slide on Monday.

Markets have all but ruled out a cut at the Fed’s March meeting and have recently pushed back expectations for a cut to June from May, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed, following strong US consumer and producer price data.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were largely stable on Tuesday, as investors weighed up signals of a Gaza ceasefire against the reality on the ground in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures fell 10 cents, or 0.12%, to $82.43 a barrel by 0923 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) were down 7 cents, or 0.09%, to $77.51 a barrel.

The attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging a war against Hamas, have increased freight rates and shipping times, and on Monday, US Central Command said the Houthis had unsuccessfully fired a missile at the US flagged oil tanker Torm Thor in the Gulf of Aden on Feb. 24.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Tuesday

BID                            Rs 279.28

OFFER                      Rs 279.48

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 19.00 paisa for buying and 24.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 279.45 and 282.04, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 76.00 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 302.00 and 304.80, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 7.00 paisa for buying and 5.00 paisa for selling, closing at 75.98 and 76.70, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 6.00 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 74.21 and 74.91, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Tuesday

BID                            Rs 279.45

OFFER                      Rs 282.04