The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
At 10:10am, the currency was hovering at 278.33, a gain of Re0.21 against the US dollar.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 278.54, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In recent months, the domestic currency has largely been around 277-279 against the dollar as traders keep an eye on some positive indicators and approval from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board over a new $7-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Globally, the US dollar traded near a four-week high versus the euro on Thursday after signs of some stickiness in US inflation reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would avoid a super-sized interest rate cut next week.
Meanwhile, a quarter-point rate reduction from the European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected later on Thursday, with investors anxious for hints on how soon the monetary authority will cut again.
The US dollar gained against the yen, following a turbulent session on Wednesday that saw the US currency plunge as much as 1.24% to the lowest this year before recovering all its losses after the consumer price data.
The US consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% last month, matching the advance in July.
But excluding the volatile food and energy components, the gauge climbed 0.3%, accelerating from the previous month’s 0.2% increase.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose during Asian trade on Thursday, spurred by concerns of Hurricane Francine impacting output in the US, the world’s biggest crude producer, though worries of lower demand capped gains.
Brent crude futures for November were up 40 cents, or 0.6% at $71.01 a barrel at 0330 GMT. US crude futures for October were up 32 cents, or 0.5%, at $67.63 a barrel.
Both contracts rose by over $1, or more than 2%, in the previous session as offshore platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico were shut and refinery operations on the coast disrupted by Hurricane Francine’s landfall in southern Louisiana on Wednesday.
This is an intra-day update
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