Rupee largely stable against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar on Friday, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market.

At close, the currency settled at 277.64, a gain of Re0.05 against the US dollar.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 277.69, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Globally, the US dollar wobbled on Friday and looked set for a third straight month of declines as investors weighed US data to gauge the pace of interest rate cuts, while China’s spree of stimulus measures kept risk-sensitive currencies aloft.

Data on Thursday suggested the US labour market remained fairly healthy, while other reports showed corporate profits increased at a more robust pace than initially thought in the second quarter, highlighting an upbeat economic outlook.

The US dollar, however, remained on the back foot as traders priced in 73 basis points (bps) of easing for the rest of the year, with a 51% chance for another outsized half-percentage-point cut, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

The Federal Reserve has recently signalled a shift in focus away from inflation and towards keeping the labour market healthy, delivering a larger-than-usual 50 bps interest rate cut last week.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last at 100.69, not far from the 14-month low of 100.21 it touched on Wednesday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, recouped losses on Friday to edge higher, but stayed on track for a weekly fall as investors weighed expectations for increased output from Libya and the broader OPEC+ group against fresh stimulus from top importer China.

Brent crude futures were up 15 cents, or 0.21%, at $71.75 per barrel, as of 0630 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 18 cents, or 0.27%, to $67.85.

On a weekly basis, Brent crude has shed about 3.7%, while WTI was on track to slide nearly 5.7%.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 277.64

OFFER                      Rs 277.84

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 41 paise for buying and 15 paise for selling against USD, closing at 278.26 and 280.15, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 34 paise for buying and 43 paise for selling, closing at 308.20 and 311.11, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 75.36 and 76.08, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 5 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 73.61 and 74.28, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 278.26

OFFER                      Rs 280.15