The Pakistani rupee maintained its upward trajectory against the US dollar, appreciating 0.05% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
At 10:15am, the currency was hovering at 282.43, a gain of Re0.14.
On Tuesday, the currency settled at 282.57.
Internationally, the US dollar was rangebound on Wednesday, with investors choosing to stay on the sidelines ahead of US President Donald Trump’s pick to fill a coming vacancy on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
Trump said on Tuesday he will decide on a nominee by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four.
Data out the same day also showed the US services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July even as input costs climbed by the most in nearly three years, underscoring the hit from Trump’s tariffs on the economy, which has also begun to bite corporate earnings.
Still, those did little to sway the dollar, as traders were hesitant to take on fresh positions ahead of news on who would fill the Fed board vacancy. Concerns are mounting that partisan loyalty would invade the staid world of central bank policy.
The dollar was last little changed at 147.54 yen, while the euro ticked up 0.02% to $1.5760. Sterling last bought $1.3304.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last at 98.76, still some distance away from its peak of 100.25 hit on Friday before the nonfarm payrolls figures.
Traders continue to price in an over 90% chance of a Fed cut in September, with about 58 basis points worth of easing expected by the year-end.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, climbed on Wednesday, rebounding from a five-week low in the previous day, on concerns of supply disruptions after US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs on India over its Russian crude purchases.
Brent crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $67.93 a barrel by 0119 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $65.44 a barrel, up 28 cents, or 0.4%.
Both contracts fell by more than $1 on Tuesday to settle at their lowest in five weeks, marking a fourth session of losses, on oversupply concerns from OPEC+’s planned September output hike.
This is an intra-day update
