Intra-day update: Rupee Maintains Stability Against US Dollar

During the first hours of trading on Thursday, the Pakistani rupee stayed mostly unchanged against the US dollar.

In the interbank market at 10:10 a.m., the rupee was trading at 287.47, down Re0.01.

The Pakistani rupee strengthened slightly against the US dollar on Wednesday, rising 0.16% to 287.46.

In a significant milestone, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance ruled on Wednesday that targeted Letters of Credit (LCs) issuing is discriminatory against manufacturers and instructed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders.

The committee has expressed its concern with the delay and interference in the opening of LCs.

Globally, the US dollar remained towards the middle of its range against a basket of major peers this week, as investors anticipated critical US inflation data later Thursday that might affect Federal Reserve policy.

The dollar nudged up to a one-month high against the yen as markets wagered that the Bank of Japan will be slow to withdraw stimulus, despite traders betting that the Fed is done raising interest rates.

The US dollar index, which compares the US currency to six other currencies, including the euro and the yen, was barely changed at 102.50 in the Asian morning, after ranging between 101.98 and 102.80 this week.

Oil prices, a major measure of currency parity, fell from multi-month highs achieved the previous session on Thursday, as increasing US oil inventories and slow Chinese economic data prompted concerns about global fuel demand.