The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening minutes of trading in the inter-bank market on Monday. At 10am, the local currency was hovering at 279.80, a gain of Re0.22 against the greenback. During the previous week , the Pakistan rupee posted a marginal gain for another week as it appreciated by Re0.09 or 0.03% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market. The local unit closed at 280.02, against 280.11 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Internationally, the US dollar retreated from its strongest in a month early on Monday, as US prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, adding to tensions with the Trump administration. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was last 0.3% lower at 98.899, snapping a five-day winning streak. The dollar had advanced in early Asian trading after Friday’s jobs report bolstered expectations the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates later this month, while reports of hundreds of deaths during protests in Iran heightened geopolitical tensions and stoked demand for safe havens. Financial markets are preparing for a busy data calendar this week, with Tuesday’s release of the US consumer price index for December providing one of the last key economic releases before the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy meeting at the end of January. Oil prices , a key indicator of currency parity, were little changed on Monday as investors eyed potential supply disruptions from OPEC producer Iran amid intensifying protests, although efforts to quickly resume oil exports from Venezuela kept a lid on prices. Brent crude futures slipped 5 cents to $63.29 a barrel by 0131 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $59.06 a barrel, down 6 cents. Both contracts rose more than 3% last week to clinch their biggest weekly rise since October as Iran’s clerical establishment intensified its crackdown on the biggest demonstrations since 2022. This is an intra-day update