Rupee registers marginal improvement against US dollar

Rupee's Performance Against US Dollar Since 23 Jan 2025

The Pakistani rupee saw marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At close, the currency settled at 280.22, a gain of Re0.04 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 280.26.

Internationally, the yen was steady against the dollar after US President Donald Trump slapped a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting next week as the looming all-out trade war dims risk sentiment.

Investors worry that the trade duties will dent US growth and potentially reignite inflation, although the prospect of narrower-than-feared tariffs has buoyed sentiment recently.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was at 104.61, close to the three-week high touched in the previous session.

The US imported $474 billion of automotive products in 2024, including passenger cars worth $220 billion. Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Germany, all close US allies, were the biggest suppliers.

The Mexican peso weakened more than 0.5% to 20.2222 per US dollar in Asian hours.

The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker at 1.429 per US dollar, having touched its strongest level since February 24 in the previous session.

Trump for now exempted auto parts that are compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade that he negotiated during his first term.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, edged lower on Thursday as markets weighed the impact of US President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs at a time when concerns swirled about global supply due to US tariff threats on buyers of Venezuelan oil and sanctions on Iran’s oil clients.

Brent crude futures fell 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.57 a barrel by 0733 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.42.

Both benchmarks were initially up in early Asian trade.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID                            Rs 280.21

OFFER                      Rs 280.41

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and lost 3 paise for selling against USD, closing at 279.68 and 281.97, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 34 paise for buying and 22 paise for selling, closing at 300.55 and 303.73, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and 1 paisa for selling, closing at 75.98 and 76.56, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 3 paise for buying and 2 paise for selling, closing at 74.25 and 74.90, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID                            Rs 279.68

OFFER                      Rs 281.97