Rupee records gain against US dollar

Dollar sellers hit pause for US inflation data

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The Pakistani rupee continued its marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

The local unit closed the day at 276.60, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 276.61 against the dollar.

Internationally, the US dollar held ​near a 19-month high on Friday after a strong week of gains on rising bets of ‌a larger Federal Reserve rate hike, pushing the Japanese yen back near the key 160 mark that has left traders on alert for intervention.

Treasury yields rose after US President Donald Trump said the US does not need a deal with Iran and as traders weighed ​the chance of a larger-than-usual Federal Reserve rate hike next month.

Two-year Treasury yields gained 34 basis ​points over the past two sessions, the sharpest two-day rise in 3-1/2 years.

The euro dropped ⁠0.1% to $1.1049, hovering near its lowest level against the dollar since April 2025. For the week, it was down ​0.8%, on track for its largest weekly loss since late September.

Fed officials this week warned that US inflation remains stubbornly ​elevated, with some signalling openness to a 50-basis-point rate increase if price pressures fail to ease.

Traders are pricing in a 14.5% chance of a large hike next month, up from 0% last week, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Investors are also keeping an eye on ​upheaval in technology stocks in the wake of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s departure, in a sector already pressured by funding ​and regulatory concerns.

The Japanese yen was largely unchanged at 159.875 per dollar, near its lowest ​level since early September, fuelling ​intervention concerns.

Japanese Finance Minister ⁠Satsuki Katayama said on Friday that the government will respond appropriately to currency volatility as the yen briefly hit the key 160-per-dollar line on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the ​greenback against a basket of currencies, was last down 0.05% at 103.17, remaining at ​its highest since ⁠April 2025.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were mixed on Friday and headed for a second weekly decline as the US focus ​on its blockade of Iran and other economic pressure eased fears of renewed direct conflict, though ‌shipping attacks remained a supply risk.

Brent futures rose 39 cents, or 0.4%, to $96.21 a barrel at 1200 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $88.62 a barrel.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 276.60

OFFER Rs 276.80

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR lost 10 paise for buying and 4 paise for selling against USD, closing at 277.19 and 278.27, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 55 paise for buying and 70 paise for selling, closing at 306.10 and 309.22, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 1 paisa for buying and lost 1 paisa for selling, closing at 75.46 and 76.10, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 2 paise for buying and remained unchanged for selling, closing at 73.81 and 74.36, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 277.19

OFFER Rs 278.27

Source: brecorder

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