Business Recorder
The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar during trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.71, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 278.72. Globally, the US dollar remained on the defensive on Thursday as hopes for a de-escalation in the Iran-US war supported oil-exposed currencies, while Tokyo resumed its verbal intervention in support of the yen, keeping speculators cautious. Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing a US peace proposal that sources indicated would formally end the war but leave unresolved key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz . Analysts were worried that any agreement that did not open the vital waterway to shipping would likely see oil prices rise again, with Brent edging 0.8% higher in early trading. Hopes for de-escalation had seen oil prices slide overnight, easing inflationary fears and pulling down Treasury yields as markets pared back the risk of U.S. rate hikes. That left the dollar index back at 97.950 and well short of last week’s top of 99.092. The pullback in oil had boosted the euro, given the continent is far more reliant on imported oil than the United States, and it was 0.1% firmer at $1.1757 having touched a two-week top of $1.1797 overnight. Oil prices , a key indicator of currency parity, extended losses on Thursday, sliding around 2% to below $100 a barrel on renewed hopes for a US-Iran peace deal that could bring a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz . Brent crude futures fell $1.95, or 1.93%, to $99.32 a barrel by 0912 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate dropped $1.93, or 2.03%, to $93.15.
Go to News Site