Intra-day update: rupee registers minor gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement, appreciating 0.04% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

At 10:30am, the currency was hovering at 278.40, a gain of Re0.10 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the local unit settled at 278.50 against the US dollar.

In a key development, the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves recorded an increase of over $5 billion during the last fiscal year (FY24).

According to State Bank of Pakistan’s statistics, Pakistan’s foreign exchange position improved during the last fiscal year supported by arrival of inflows from the international financial and multilateral agencies.

Globally, the US dollar was hovering near three-week lows on Friday ahead of payrolls data that will likely influence the outlook for rates, while the pound was firm as the Labour party looked set to win a massive majority in the UK general election.

It is up 0.9% for the week, its best weekly performance since mid-May and remains the strongest-performing major currency against the dollar this year with a gain of 1.2%.

Centre-left Labour was on course to capture 410 of the 650 seats in parliament, a majority of 170 seats and affording investors some much-needed certainty after years of market volatility under the Conservatives.

US traders return from their July 4th holiday and the spotlight will firmly be on non-farm payrolls, due later on Friday. The report is expected to show an increase of 190,000 jobs in June after a rise of 272,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were little changed in Asian trade on Friday but were on track for a fourth straight week of gains and holding near their highest levels since late April on hopes of strong summer fuel demand and some supply concerns.

Brent crude futures, which have risen 7% over the last four weeks, slipped 2 cents to $87.41 a barrel by 0143 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, which have climbed 9% over the past four weeks, inched up to $83.97, up 9 cents from Wednesday’s close.