The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
At 10:10am, the currency was hovering at 277.85, a gain of Re0.04 against the greenback.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 277.89, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Internationally, the US dollar hung just off a four-month high on Thursday as the market continued to digest Republican Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election, while investors eyed several central bank decisions that will be topped off by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points later in the day, and the market focus will be on any clues suggesting the US central bank could skip a cut in December.
Last week’s October jobs report came in weaker than expected, raising questions over the degree of softness in the labour market, though this data was clouded by the impact of recent hurricanes and labour strikes.
The Fed’s decision comes on the back of the US presidential election, with a victory by Trump fuelling questions over whether the bank may proceed to reduce rates at a slower and shallower pace.
Markets now see about a 70% chance the Fed will also cut rates next month, down from 77% on Tuesday, according to the CME Group’s Fed Watch Tool.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Thursday following a sell-off triggered by the U.S. presidential election, as risks to oil supply from a Trump presidency and a hurricane building in the Gulf Coast outweighed a stronger US dollar and higher inventories.
Brent crude oil futures were up 65 cents, or 0.87%, at $75.57 per barrel by 0400 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 54 cents or 0.75% to $72.23.
This is an intra-day update
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