← Go back Jan 01, 2024
Currency hovers at 281 level in inter-bank market The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening hours in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At 10:15am, the rupee was hovering at 281, an increase of Re0.22, in the inter-bank market. On Tuesday, the rupee had registered a marginal gain to settle at 281.22 against the US dollar. Globally, the US dollar was steady on Wednesday in cautious trading ahead of US inflation data due later this week that is likely to influence the Federal Reserve’s policy, while bitcoin was volatile after a fake social media post rattled markets. The US securities regulator said someone briefly accessed its X social media account and posted a fake message saying it had approved exchange traded funds (ETFs) for bitcoin. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it had not yet approved spot bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin surged to a fresh 21-month peak of $47,897 after the fake post, before sliding down to below $45,000 within minutes as the SEC deleted and disavowed the information. In the currency market, the dollar remained on the frontfoot, with the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, last at 102.53, after gaining 0.215% on Tuesday. The index is up 1% this month, after dropping 2% in December as traders reassess how steep and early the rate cuts from the Fed are likely to be. The Fed’s surprising dovish tilt in December, when it projected 75 basis points (bps) of rate cuts in 2024, turbo-charged market expectations of easing with traders last month anticipating as much as 160 bps of cuts. Oil prices , a key indicator of currency parity, inched higher on Wednesday, extending the previous day’s rally, after industry data showed US crude stocks fell more than expected last week, though a bigger-than-anticipated build in products inventories capped gains. Brent crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $77.88 a barrel at 0138 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.53 a barrel. The benchmarks gained about 2% on Tuesday amid the Middle East crisis and a Libyan supply outage. This is an intra-day update
Read more: brecorder
