Intra-day update: rupee registers marginal decline against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee marginally declined against the US dollar, depreciating 0.05% in the inter-bank market during intra-day trading on Tuesday.

At 12pm, the currency was hovering at 278.78 amid a loss of Re0.13 against the greenback.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 278.65 on Monday.

Internationally, the US dollar rebounded in choppy Asian trade on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump suggested the United States could impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico shortly, though details were lacking.

Trump was quoted as saying his team was thinking of tariffs around 25%, which could be announced on Feb. 1, but he offered no other specifics.

The comments came as a surprise given officials had earlier signalled any new taxes would be imposed in a “measured” way, a major relief for trade-exposed currencies. The following memo merely directed agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits.

The market reaction was a knee-jerk fall in the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso, which helped the dollar pare losses suffered on Monday.

The US dollar climbed 1.2% to 1.4475 Canadian dollar, while adding 1.3% on the peso.

The dollar index bounced 0.6% to 108.65, having shed 1.2% overnight, its sharpest daily loss since late 2023.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, slipped in Asian trading on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced a plan to boost US oil and gas production and held off on applying new tariffs.

Brent crude futures dipped 11 cents, or 0.14%, to $80.04 per barrel by 0156 GMT.

The most actively traded West Texas Intermediate crude March contract fell by 67 cents to $76.72 a barrel from Friday’s close.

There was no settlement in the US market for Jan. 20 due to a public holiday.

The February contract expires on Tuesday.

This is an intra-day update