Rupee sees marginal gains against US dollar

At 10:40am, the rupee was hovering at 286.31, an increase of Re0.08 in the inter-bank market. On Tuesday, the rupee had depreciated 0.38% to settle at 286.39 against the US dollar.

In a related development, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are likely to initiate policy-level talks from 13th November (Monday) onwards.

The caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar told the media on Monday that she is optimistic about the success of talks with the IMF on the first review while responding to questions outside the Finance Ministry.

She added that talks are progressing positively as all the ministries and divisions have implemented the agreed targets and their performance is satisfactory.

Internationally, the US dollar regained its footing on Wednesday and inched higher after a slew of Federal Reserve speakers left the door open to further rate hikes, as traders looked to a speech from Chair Jerome Powell on the central bank’s future policy path.

The greenback, which tumbled last week in the wake of the Fed’s decision to hold its policy rate steady and on data pointing to a cooling US labour market, has found a floor as markets remain at odds over whether a peak in US rates has been reached and how soon the Fed could begin easing monetary conditions.

The US dollar index, which last week clocked its sharpest weekly fall in about four months, rose 0.03% to 105.57 and was on track for a weekly gain.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, stuttered on Wednesday after sliding to their lowest in over three months in the previous session, weighed down by concerns over waning demand in the world’s top oil consumers, the United States and China.

Brent crude futures ticked up slightly by 4 cents to $81.65 a barrel by 0333 GMT, while US crude futures dipped 14 cents to $77.24 a barrel. Both declined to the lowest since July 24 on Tuesday.