KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee experienced an ascent against the US dollar, marking a 0.3% appreciation in the initial trading hours on Friday.
By 10 am, the rupee had reached 286.55, rising by Re0.83 in the inter-bank market.
Contrastingly, on Thursday, the rupee had declined by 0.26%, settling at 287.38 in relation to the US dollar.
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the Caretaker Finance Minister, hinted at a potential gas price increase scheduled for January 2024. Following the staff-level agreement with the IMF, she assured that forthcoming external financing expected in December 2023 would fortify foreign exchange reserves.
Despite a $79 million decrease in the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves due to external debt servicing, they stood at $12.535 billion as of November 10, 2023.
Internationally, the yen was poised for its most robust week against the US dollar in four months, driven by expectations of a diminishing US-Japan rate gap. Market sentiment leaned towards the Federal Reserve concluding its rate hikes, placing the dollar on course for a weekly decline.
Recent underwhelming US economic data, particularly a slowdown in inflation, reinforced the belief that the Fed’s aggressive monetary tightening cycle has peaked. Attention now turns to the potential timing of rate cuts.
Oil prices, a significant metric in currency parity, faced a fourth consecutive week of descent. Early Asian trade saw minimal change after a 5% dip to a four-month low on Thursday, amid concerns over global demand. Brent futures hovered at $77.52 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) remained nearly stagnant at $72.95. Both indices witnessed a drop of approximately one-sixth of their value over the past four weeks.
