The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening minutes of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 9:50am, the local currency was hovering at 279.90, a gain of Re0.22 against the greenback. On Wednesday , the local unit closed at 280.12. The market was closed on Thursday on account of a bank holiday. Globally, the US dollar made a feeble start to 2026 on Friday after struggling against most currencies last year, while the yen steadied near 10-month lows as traders awaited economic data this month to gauge the path of interest rates. A dwindling interest rate difference between the US and other economies has cast a shadow over the currency market, resulting in most currencies gaining sharply against the dollar in 2025, with the yen an exception. The euro was steady at $1.1752 in early Asian hours after surging 13.5% last year, while sterling last bought $1.3474 following a 7.7% increase in 2025. Both currencies clocked their steepest annual rises since 2017. The yen was last at 156.74 per US dollar after rising less than 1% against the greenback in 2025 and hovering close to the 10-month low of 157.90 it touched in November, which sparked worries of intervention from Tokyo. Severe verbal warnings from authorities in Tokyo through December managed to push the yen away from the intervention zone, but those fears still linger. With markets in Japan and China closed, volumes are likely to be thin, and moves muted during Asian hours. Oil prices , a key indicator of currency parity, edged up on the first day of trade in 2026 after last year posting their biggest annual loss since 2020, as Ukrainian drones targeted Russian oil facilities and a US blockade pressured Venezuela’s exports. Brent crude futures climbed 14 cents on Friday to $60.99 a barrel by 0146 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $57.56 a barrel, up 14 cents. This is an intra-day update