The Pakistani rupee remained relatively stable against the US dollar, settling with a marginal improvement of 0.02% during the trading session on Thursday.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at 283.82, an increase of Re0.06.

The rupee had registered a marginal gain against the US dollar on Wednesday, settling at 283.88 in the inter-bank market.

In a key development, the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signaled it may pause further increases, giving officials time to assess the fallout from recent bank failures, wait on the resolution of a political standoff over the US debt ceiling, and monitor the course of inflation.

The unanimous decision lifted the US central bank’s benchmark overnight interest rate to the 5.00%-5.25% range.

This was Fed’s tenth consecutive increase since March 2022.

Internationally, the US dollar slipped against most major currencies on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve opened the door to a pause in its aggressive tightening cycle, though markets were buffeted by risk aversion amid a rout in regional US bank shares.

The US dollar index was last 0.12% lower at 101.11, after dropping more than 0.6% in the previous session.

Money markets are now expecting the Fed to keep interest rates steady at its next meeting in June, and have priced in roughly 80 basis points of rate cuts beginning July through to the end of the year.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Thursday but were unable to claw back the more than 9% decline during the previous three days as demand concerns in major consumers overrode signals that the US may pause its interest rates increases.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID Rs 283.80

OFFER Rs 286.00

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 286.50 and 289.50, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1 rupee for both buying and selling, closing at 314 and 317 respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 77.80 and 78.50, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 10 paisa for buying and selling, closing at 75.80 and 76.50, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Thursday

BID Rs 286.50

OFFER Rs 289.50