The Pakistani rupee maintained its positive momentum against the US dollar, appreciating 0.06% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
At 10am, the rupee was hovering at 281.53, a gain of Re0.18 against the greenback.
On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 281.71.
Internationally, the US dollar softened on Thursday in a volatile week as investors contended with bond market jitters while weighing data that showed a weakening labour market, which reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month.
With the Fed focused on the labour market, Friday’s crucial jobs report will set the tone for the near-term rate outlook after data on Wednesday showed job openings fell to a 10-month low in July, although layoffs remained relatively low.
Traders are pricing in about 97% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates later this month, up from 89% a week earlier, CME FedWatch showed. They are also pricing in 139 basis points of easing by the end of next year.
The softer-than-expected job openings data weighed on the dollar. The euro held onto its overnight gains and last bought $1.165775. After a bruising week, sterling was steady at $1.3442 in early Asian hours.
The Japanese yen last fetched 148.12 per dollar after eking out a small gain in the previous session.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other units, stood at 98.178 after easing 0.17% on Wednesday.
Several Federal Reserve officials who spoke on Wednesday said labour market worries continue to underpin their view that rate cuts still lie ahead for the central bank.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, slid on Thursday, extending a decline of more than 2% in the previous session, as investors and traders look ahead to a weekend meeting of OPEC+ where producers are expected to consider another increase in output targets.
Brent crude fell 46 cents, or 0.7%, to $67.14 a barrel by 0416 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 47 cents, or 0.7%, to $63.5 a barrel.
This is an intra-day update
