Pakistani Rupee Edges Up Against US Dollar, Closes at Rs 277.16

• The rupee gained Re0.01 against the dollar in the interbank market on Friday.
• Open-market dollar rates remained unchanged at Rs278.12 for buying and Rs279.20 for selling.
• The US dollar stayed near a two-month high globally, while oil prices fell during the session.

The Pakistani rupee posted a slight gain against the US dollar on Friday, closing at Rs277.16 in the interbank market. It had settled at Rs277.17 on Thursday.

The interbank bid rate stood at Rs277.16, while the offer rate was Rs277.36. In the open market, the dollar’s buying and selling rates were unchanged at Rs278.12 and Rs279.20, respectively.

Other open-market currencies showed mixed movement. The euro’s buying rate held at Rs316.43, while its selling rate fell by 23 paisa to Rs319.49. The UAE dirham rose by two paisa on the buying side to Rs75.72 and by one paisa on the selling side to Rs76.29. The Saudi riyal gained one paisa on both sides, closing at Rs74.02 for buying and Rs74.52 for selling.

Globally, the dollar was on course for a second consecutive weekly gain, supported by higher US Treasury yields and expectations of further interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The dollar index had risen more than 1% over the week to a two-month high, although it edged down to around 101.2 during Friday’s session.

The stronger dollar weighed on other major currencies. The euro fell to a two-month low of $1.1370 and was heading for a third straight weekly decline. Sterling traded near a three-month low of $1.3220 and was on track for its weakest weekly performance in four months.

Oil prices, which matter for Pakistan’s import costs, declined by more than 1% as traders assessed the prospect of a US-Iran truce alongside concerns over attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. At 1215 GMT, Brent crude was down $1.34 at $105.26 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate had fallen $1.83 to $92.78. For the week, Brent remained up 1.5%, while WTI was down 7.4%.