Rupee ends marginally weaker against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee ended marginally weaker against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

At close, the currency settled at 277.72, a loss of Re0.05 against the greenback.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 277.67, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Internationally, the US dollar drifted sideways on Wednesday, giving some relief to the yen and other major currencies after a sharp rally to a seven-week high last week, as investors paused to assess the interest rate path outlook for the United States.

On Wednesday, investors will get minutes of the Fed’s September meeting, which will show discussions about what at the time had appeared to be a deteriorating labour market that ended with all but one policymaker agreeing to a 50-basis point cut.

But bets for another jumbo cut in November have been taken off the table after the latest nonfarm payroll data indicated a more resilient picture.

Markets now have about an 85% chance of a quarter basis point reduction priced in, as well as a slim probability the Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was flat at 102.490, not far from Friday’s seven-week high of 102.69.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, erased early gains on Wednesday as weak demand fundamentals and rising supply countered elevated risk of supply disruption from conflict in the Middle East and Hurricane Milton in the United States.

Brent crude futures were down 36 cents, or 0.47%, at $76.82 a barrel by 1103 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures lost 43 cents, or 0.58%, to $73.14.

Brent and WTI both gained more than 1% earlier in the session after prices had plunged on Tuesday by more than 4% on a possible Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, though markets remain wary of a potential Israeli attack on Iranian oil infrastructure.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID                            Rs 277.72

OFFER                      Rs 277.92

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR gained 5 paise for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 278.17 and 279.61, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR gained 41 paise for buying and 35 paise for selling, closing at 302.89 and 305.66, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 75.37 and 76.06, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for buying and gained 1 paisa for selling, closing at 73.52 and 74.17, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Wednesday

BID                            Rs 278.17

OFFER                      Rs 279.61