Intra-day update: rupee registers gain against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee registered a gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.41% in the inter-bank market during the opening hours of trading on Wednesday.

At around 10:30am, the currency was being quoted at 261.45, an increase of Rs1.06, against the US dollar.

The Pakistani rupee’s five-session positive run came to an end against the US dollar on Tuesday after it settled at 262.51 with a depreciation of Re0.63 or 0.24%.

In a key development, [Pakistan expects to conclude talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a staff-level agreement][1] as soon as this week, the country’s finance secretary said, in a crucial step towards unlocking funds to battle an economic crisis.

“The consultations with the IMF are in the final stages. We expect to conclude the consultations soon, even within the week,” Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, the top official in the finance ministry, told Reuters.

Globally, [the dollar][2] and sterling were buoyant on Wednesday, after a surprise rebound in business activity in the United States and the UK raised the likelihood that their respective central banks would have further to go in raising interest rates.

The rebound in US business activity comes on the back of a recent slew of resilient economic data pointing to a still-tight labour market, sticky inflation and robust retail sales in the world’s largest economy.

The US dollar index stood at 104.13, having gained 0.3% on Tuesday.

[Oil prices][3], a key indicator of currency parity, were steady on Wednesday as investors await the US Federal Reserve’s comments after recent data pointed to the possibility of more interest rates hikes, which may lower economic growth and limit global fuel demand.

This is an intra-day update
[1]: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40227707/pakistan-finance-secretary-sees-imf-staff-level-talks-wrapping-up-this-week
[2]: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40227755/dollar-sterling-underpinned-by-upbeat-pmi-surveys-kiwi-jumps
[3]: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40227746/oil-steadies-as-investors-await-us-fed-reserve-comments