Rupee sees minor loss against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee saw a marginal loss, depreciating 0.03% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

At close, the local unit settled at 277.92, down by Re0.08 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On Monday, the rupee registered a marginal gain to settle at 277.84 against the US dollar, according to the SBP.

In a key development, after a gap of four years, a net inflow in T-Bill of $82 million was seen from March 01-22, 2024, according to official SBP data. Since January 2024 these inflows have reached $126 million.

Carry trades are common in countries with high interest rates, Muhammad Sohail, leading analyst and CEO of Topline Securities said.

But in case of Pakistan political uncertainty and currency risk was not allowing investors to do this arbitrage, he added.

Globally, the US dollar was on the front foot on Wednesday, pinning the yen near its lowest its decades though the heightened threat of currency intervention by Tokyo capped further declines in the Japanese currency.

The US dollar, which on Tuesday touched a nearly five-month high of 105.10 against a basket of currencies, was last steady at 104.78.

The greenback’s charge higher this week has come on the back of yet another run of resilient US economic data, which showed manufacturing growing for the first time in 1-1/2 years in March, a greater-than-expected rebound in new orders for US-manufactured goods, as well as a still-resilient labour market.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were stable on Wednesday, as investors mulled supply risks stemming from ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and the potential for a widening of the Middle East conflict.

Brent crude futures for June rose 16 cents, or 0.18%, to $89.08 per barrel at 0902 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May gained 11 cents, or 0.13%, to $85.26 a barrel.

Both Brent and WTI climbed 1.7% during the previous session to their highest since October.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID                            Rs 277.92

OFFER                      Rs 278.12

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 25 paisa for buying and 6.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 277.39 and 279.98, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 86 paisa for buying and 81 paisa for selling, closing at 297.11 and 299.94, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 4 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 75.31 and 76.03, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 25 paisa for buying and 26.00 paisa for selling, closing at 73.29 and 73.98, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID                            Rs 277.39

OFFER                      Rs 279.98