Pakistani Rupee Declines Against US Dollar

During Friday’s initial trading hours in the inter-bank market, the Pakistani rupee experienced a slight decrease of 0.03% against the US dollar.

At approximately 10:00 AM, the local currency was recorded at 282.75, reflecting a loss of approximately Re0.08 against the US currency.

To provide context, the rupee had closed at Rs282.67 against the US dollar on the previous day, Thursday.

Global Market Reactions

On the international front, the US dollar strengthened, moving in tandem with safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. These currency market shifts occurred abruptly following reports of Israeli strikes within Iran.

According to reports, U.S. officials confirmed that Israel had initiated strikes on Iranian territory, clarifying that the United States did not provide assistance or participate in these operations.

Additional reports indicated that explosions were detected in areas northeast of Tehran, Iran’s capital city.

An index that tracks the dollar’s performance against six other major currencies increased by 0.4%, reaching 98.07 in early trading sessions in Asia.

The dollar weakened against the yen by 0.35%, trading at 143 yen per dollar, while the Swiss franc declined by 0.39% to 0.807 per dollar.

Risk-sensitive currencies in Asia, including the Australian and New Zealand dollars, both experienced declines of 0.9%.

Earlier in the week, the US dollar index had fallen to multi-year lows as investor confidence was shaken by a U.S.-China trade resolution that did not meet expectations. Moreover, cooler inflation data increased forecasts of more aggressive interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve.

The dollar is currently headed for weekly losses relative to the yen, the Swiss franc, and the euro.

Oil Price Surge

Oil prices, a significant benchmark for currency valuation, saw an increase of over 7% on Friday. This surge brought oil prices to their highest levels in several months after Israel’s reported strikes on Iran, intensifying Middle East tensions and sparking concerns about possible disruptions to oil supplies.

Brent crude futures increased by $5.29, equivalent to 7.63%, reaching $74.65 a barrel by 0142 GMT, after hitting an intraday high of $75.32, a level not seen since April 2. Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $5.38, or 7.91%, to $73.42 a barrel, after peaking at $74.35, marking its highest point since February 3.

This update reflects intraday market movements.