Rupee registers marginal gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee recorded a marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Friday.

At close, the currency settled at 277.67, a gain of Re0.07 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 277.74, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Internationally, the US dollar was headed for its best week in more than a month on Friday, buoyed by expectations of fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts and the view that Donald Trump’s policies could further stoke inflation when he assumes office in January.

The greenback hovered near a one-year high against a basket of currencies at 106.88, eyeing a weekly gain of 1.8%, which would mark its best performance since September.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday the central bank does not need to rush to lower interest rates, citing ongoing economic growth, a solid job market and sticky inflation as reasons for caution against easing policy too quickly.

Traders reacted by paring bets of the pace and scale of future U.S. rate cuts, with Fed funds futures now implying just 71 basis points worth of easing by end-2025.

Pricing for a 25 bp rate cut next month has also fallen to just 48.3% from 82.5% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, fell on Friday, and were heading for a weekly loss, on worries about waning Chinese demand and expectations of fewer US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Brent crude futures dropped 97 cents, or 1.34%, to $71.59 a barrel by 1011 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 94 cents, or 1.37%, at $67.76.

For the week, Brent is set to fall 3% while WTI is set to decline nearly 4%.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 277.67

OFFER                      Rs 277.87

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 7 paise for buying and 9 paise for selling against USD, closing at 276.89 and 278.65, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 86 paise for buying and 79 paise for selling, closing at 291.10 and 293.80, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and lost 1 paisa for selling, closing at 75.27 and 75.97, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 73.52 and 74.16, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID                            Rs 276.89

OFFER                      Rs 278.65