The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued its winning streak against the US Dollar (USD) and posted gains in the interbank market today.
It appreciated by 0.14 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 197.59 after gaining 27 paisas in the interbank market today. The local unit hit an intra-day high of Rs. 197.15 against the USD during today’s open market session.
From its record-breaking low of 202.01 against the dollar, the Rupee has gone up by Rs. 4.36 in seven days.
The rupee closed in green against the dollar for the fifth consecutive day as oil prices dipped on Thursday on reports that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations may boost crude production to compensate for a drop in Russian crude imports. Global crude markets slid during the day, reversing earlier gains of the week. Brent crude dropped to $113.4 after briefly peaking at $115.9. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude shed $3 during the early hours of the day to settle at $112.3.
At home, inflation is wreaking havoc in other sectors of the economy as institutions urgently address the issue at hand. Today, the government has revised the profit rate on several national savings certificates and schemes by 36 to 150 basis points. It has revised the profit rate upwards amid the higher policy rate of the central bank and surge in cut-off yields of secondary market bonds.
National savings rates are normally issued every two months and are related to the cut-off yield on T-bills and long-term Pakistan Investment Bonds. Current statistics suggest the latest T-bill yields are now about 15.25 percent, 15.25 percent, and 15.50 percent on 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year terms, respectively, while PIB returns are around 14.00 percent, 13.19 percent, and 13.15 percent on 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year terms.
The PKR continued its good run against the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained seven paisas against both the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and the UAE Dirham (AED), 86 paisas against the Euro (EUR), and Rs. 1.23 against the Pound Sterling (GBP).
Moreover, it gained 19 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) and 31 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) in today’s interbank currency market.
