Rupee largely stable against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Monday.

At close, the currency settled at 278.13, a gain of Re0.03 against the US dollar.

During the previous week, the rupee improved marginally, gaining Re0.41 or 0.15% against the US dollar.

The local unit closed at 278.16, against 278.57 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

In a key development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board is scheduled to take Pakistan’s 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about $7 billion on the agenda on September 25. This was confirmed by Julie Kozack, Director of the Communications Department at IMF, while addressing a press briefing the previous week.

Internationally, the yen lounged around its highest levels for the year on Monday in trading thinned by a holiday in Japan, as market participants vacillated over the expected size of the Federal Reserve’s almost-certain rate cut later this week.

The US dollar was flat at 140.86 yen, near where it finished last week and close to the 140.285 end-December low it struck on Friday.

The Fed’s Sept. 17-18 meeting is the highlight of a busy week that also has the Bank of England and Bank of Japan announcing policy decisions on Thursday and Friday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose in Asian trade on Monday amid expectations of a US interest rate cut this week, though gains were capped by persistent demand worries and weaker China data.

Brent crude futures for November were up 38 cents, or 0.5%, at $71.99 a barrel at 0700 GMT. US crude futures for October were up 49 cents, or 0.7%, at $69.14 a barrel.

Both contracts had settled lower in the previous session, with concerns about supply disruptions easing as Gulf of Mexico crude production resumed following Hurricane Francine and as rising data showed a weekly rise in US rig count.

Still, nearly a fifth of crude oil production and 28% of natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico remain offline in the hurricane’s aftermath.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Monday

BID                            Rs 278.13

OFFER                      Rs 278.33

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 6 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling against USD, closing at 279.60 and 280.75, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 81 paise for buying and 76 paise for selling, closing at 308.80 and 311.76, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 75.60 and 76.35, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and gained 1 paisa for selling, closing at 73.91 and 74.61, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Monday

BID                            Rs 279.60

OFFER                      Rs 280.75