The Pakistani rupee experienced a slight uptick against the US dollar, gaining 0.01% in the initial hours of trading on Thursday.
By 11:05 am, it was trading at 279.85, marking an increase of Re0.03 in the inter-bank market. This follows a 0.16% depreciation on Wednesday when the rupee settled at 279.88 against the US dollar.
In a related development, during the quarter ending on September 30, 2023, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) imposed penalties amounting to Rs83.2 million on four banks due to their non-compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
On a global scale, the US dollar remained strong on Thursday, hovering close to a one-week high. This strength was attributed to rising Treasury yields and a decrease in investor appetite for riskier currencies. Additionally, the Japanese yen surpassed the 150 per dollar mark, raising concerns among traders about potential currency intervention.
The upcoming release of US GDP data later on Thursday was noted as a significant event risk for the dollar/yen exchange rate. Carol Kong, a currency strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, suggested that a strong GDP report could push US yields higher and potentially lead to the yen testing new lows.
The US dollar, when measured against a basket of currencies, was trading at 106.58, just slightly below the one-week high of 106.61 that it reached on Wednesday.
