Intra-day update: rupee stable against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

At 11am, the currency was hovering at 277.93, a gain of Re0.02 against the greenback.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 277.95, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Internationally, the US dollar slipped to a one-week low versus major peers on Wednesday, looking to extend a three-day decline from a one-week peak as the market catches its breath following the frantic rally in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.

A boost to the dollar and other traditional safe-haven currencies like the yen overnight proved short-lived, after Russia’s foreign minister said the country will “do everything possible” to avoid the onset of nuclear war, hours after Moscow announced it would lower its threshold for a nuclear strike.

Bitcoin pushed to a fresh all-time peak above $94,000, carried by expectations for a friendlier regulator environment for cryptocurrencies under Trump.

The dollar index - which measures the currency against six major peers, including the yen and euro - fell to a low of 106.07 for the first time since Wednesday of last week, and stood at 106.18 at 0247 GMT.

The index climbed to a one-year high of 107.07 on Thursday, buoyed by expectations for big fiscal spending, higher tariffs and tighter immigration under the incoming US administration, measures which economists say could foster inflation and potentially slow Federal Reserve easing.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, edged up on Wednesday amid an escalation in the Ukraine war and signs of growing Chinese crude imports, while rising US crude stocks checked overall price gains.

Brent crude futures gained 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $73.40 a barrel by 0003 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.53 per barrel.

This is an intra-day update