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

The Pakistani rupee improved marginally against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market during the opening hours of trading on Friday.

At 10:15am, the currency was hovering at 278.60, a gain of Re0.12 against the greenback.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 278.72 on Thursday.

Globally, the Australian and New Zealand dollars rose on Friday as did the yuan, reacting to comments from US President Donald Trump that suggested a softer stance on tariffs against China, while the yen was on guard ahead of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate decision.

Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday evening that he would rather not have to use tariffs over China, adding that he thought he could reach a trade deal with the world’s second-largest economy.

Trump’s remarks come just days before the Fed’s first policy meeting to be held during his administration, with very broad expectations officials will leave rates unchanged.

In the broader market, the US dollar was headed for its worst weekly fall in two months, after Trump’s widely expected tariff announcements did not materialise following his inauguration, unlike what he had threatened during his campaign.

The greenback was set to lose 1.4% against a basket of currencies, its steepest decline since November.

The US dollar index was last 0.23% lower at 107.89 on Friday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, sank on Friday, a day after Trump pressured OPEC and its de facto leader Saudi Arabia to lower prices in a broad push to drive up crude production.

Brent crude futures were down 50 cents at $77.95 a barrel by 0044 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) shed 31 cents to $74.31.

During his Thursday speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said he would demand the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries bring down the cost of crude barrels.

This is an intra-day update