Intra-day update: rupee marginally improves against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.03% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At 10:20am, the currency was hovering at 277.72, a gain of Re0.07 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 277.79, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Internationally, the US dollar paused ahead of jobs data later this week and the US presidential election next week.

US nonfarm payrolls close out the week on Friday in the run-up to the presidential election on Tuesday. Some investors have been putting on trades betting Republican candidate Donald Trump will win, although he is still neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris in several polls.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major rivals, rose 0.08% to 104.17, after softening the previous day. It hit its highest since July 30 at 104.63 on Tuesday.

US private payroll growth surged in October, data showed on Wednesday, overcoming fears of temporary disruption from hurricanes and strikes.

Meanwhile, separate data showed the US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, slightly lower than the 3% expected by economists.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Thursday, extending the previous day’s rally, driven by optimism over US fuel demand following an unexpected drop in crude and gasoline inventories, while reports that OPEC+ may delay a planned output increase offered support.

Brent crude futures gained 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.90 a barrel by 0029 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.93 per barrel.

Both contracts rose more than 2% on Wednesday, after falling more than 6% earlier in the week on the reduced risk of wider Middle East war.

This is an intra-day update