Rupee sees marginal improvement against US dollar

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08 percent during the opening hours of trading on Monday.

At around 10:20am, the rupee was hovering at 286.75, an increase of Re0.22 in the inter-bank market.

During the previous week, the rupee depreciated a marginal 0.18 percent to close at 286.97 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.

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Three sessions of losses were followed by back-to-back gains for the rupee, but attention diverted to the political front where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly announced the date for the dissolution of National Assembly.

Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) suffered a minor fall, a non-event for the currency market, but all eyes will stay on how heavy the import bill becomes as the government eased restrictions, according to The Business Recorder.

Globally, the dollar was on the backfoot on Monday after a mixed US jobs report provided little directional conviction and as market focus turned to inflation data from the world’s two largest economies due this week.

The US dollar economy added fewer jobs than expected in July, data on Friday showed, but it recorded solid wage gains and a decline in the unemployment rate.

While the dollar fell to a one-week low against a basket of currencies in the aftermath of the data, its losses were capped as the report pointed to a still-tight labour market, suggesting the Federal Reserve may need to keep rates higher for longer.

The US dollar index last stood at 101.98, languishing near Friday’s low of 101.73. Sterling rose 0.04 percent to $1.2756, while the euro dipped 0.01 percent to $1.1010.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, extended gains on Monday to touch their highest levels since mid-April after top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to keep supplies down for another month to tighten global markets further and support prices.