KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee demonstrated strength against the US dollar, recording a 0.11% increase during the initial trading hours on Monday in the inter-bank market.
By 10 AM, the rupee held steady at 278.50 in the inter-bank market.
In the previous week, the rupee relinquished its upward momentum against the US dollar, concluding the week with a 0.42% decline or a decrease of Rs1.18 to settle at 278.80 in the inter-bank market.
According to a brokerage house, the local currency weakened due to heightened demand for the US dollar to facilitate foreign payments.
Previously, the rupee had maintained a positive trend for 28 consecutive sessions, marking one of the lengthiest periods of appreciation, accumulating a notable 10.93% gain since its record low of 307.1 in the inter-bank market on September 5.
The substantial surge primarily resulted from intensified measures against smuggling and increased regulation of currency exchange businesses.
Read Also: Pak Rupee Sees Slight Improvement Against US dollar in Interbank
In the global financial landscape, the Japanese yen took center stage in Asia on Monday, briefly dipping to the 150-per-dollar threshold. This occurred as investors who were anticipating a further increase in dollar yields found themselves at odds with those who anticipated intervention by Japanese authorities in the market.
The U.S. Treasury market remained relatively calm as investors braced themselves for upcoming events, including the European Central Bank meeting and the release of U.S. GDP data later in the week.
Ten-year yields hovered around 4.97%, briefly surpassing the 5% mark last week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed the possibility of tightening financial conditions in response to the robust U.S. economy and a tight labour market.
The dollar index inched up by 0.02% to 106.19, while the euro edged down by 0.07% to $1.0586.
