Rupee sees slight gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday.

At close, the currency settled at 280.90, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

During the previous week, Pakistan rupee continued its positive run against the US dollar as it gained Re0.11 or 0.04% in the inter-bank market.

The local unit closed at 280.91, against 281.02 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Globally, the US dollar firmed to a near three-month high on Monday as investors awaited the release of data this week to gauge the health of the US economy and determine whether it could alter the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance.

The yen languished near an 8-1/2-month low, pressured by wide interest rate differentials between the US and Japan.

Trading was thinned in Asia on Monday due to a holiday in Japan, leaving currencies mostly rangebound, though most were pinned near recent lows against a strong dollar.

Last week, the Fed lowered rates by 25 basis points as expected but Chair Jerome Powell signalled that may be the central bank’s last reduction for the year, citing the risk of making additional moves without a more robust picture of the economy.

A number of Fed bank presidents on Friday also aired their discomfort with the decision to ease policy.

Traders have since pared back expectations for a cut in December and are now pricing in a roughly 68% chance of a move.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar edged up slightly to 99.82, near its strongest level since August.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, climbed on Monday after OPEC+ decided to hold off production hikes in the first quarter of next year, which eased rising fears of a supply glut, but weak factory data in Asia capped the gains.

Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.43%, to $65.05 a barrel by 0722 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $61.23 a barrel, up 25 cents, or 0.41%.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise output by 137,000 barrels per day in December, the same as for October and November.