The rupee gave up its present firmness against the dollar on the money market on Thursday in the process of trading activity, dealers said. Strong demand for dollars dragged the rupee down and it looks that the national currency may depict mixed trend in the coming days, they said. The rupee lost 50 paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 139.18 and Rs 139.20 respectively, they said.
The rupee shed further 50 paisas in relation to the euro for buying and selling at Rs 156.50 and at Rs 158.30 respectively, they said.
In the fourth Asian trade, the dollar pulled ahead from a nine-day low on Thursday, largely helped by the pound snapping back after a sharp rally made on Brexit relief.
The dollar index, a gauge of the currency's strength against six major counterparts, was up 0.1 percent at 96.633. It shed 0.4 percent overnight, at one point brushing a nine-day trough of 96.385.
The greenback had taken a knock as the pound jumped more than 2 percent after British lawmakers voted against a potentially disorderly "no-deal" departure from the European Union.
Sterling was down 0.65 percent at $1.3254 after climbing to $1.3380 the previous day, its strongest since June 2018.
The dollar was available against the Indian rupee at Rs 69.580, the US currency was at 4.088 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was trading at 6.712 versus the Chinese yuan.
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Open Bid Rs.138.70
Open Offer Rs.139.20
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Bid Rate Rs.139.18
Offer Rate Rs.139.20
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According to currency dealers, the short supply phenomenon of the US dollar prevailed throughout the trading session which helped its appreciation for buying and selling at Rs 138.90 and Rs 139.50 against the opening trend of Rs 138.60 and Rs 139.20 respectively.
Moreover, the national currency maintained downward trend for the third consecutive day against the pound sterling. Consequently, the pound's buying and selling rates further rose from the Wednesday's closing of Rs 181.30 and Rs 182.70 to Rs 183.10 and Rs 184.40 respectively, they added.
The dollar opened at Rs139 (buying) and Rs 139.20(selling) against last rate of Rs138.80(buying) and Rs 138.90(selling). It closed at Rs139 (buying) and Rs 139.20(selling).
The buying and selling rates of one tola of gold was Rs. 69,200 (selling) and Rs 69,000(buying) in the local Sarafa (gold) markets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.