Intra-day update: rupee falls to 297 against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee weakened further against the US dollar during trading, depreciating 0.4% on Monday. At around 1:30pm, the rupee was hovering at 297, a decrease of Rs1.22 in the inter-bank market. During the previous week, the rupee saw a substantial depreciation of 2.5%, closing at 295.78 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market. This was its weakest closing level since May 11, and also precariously near the all-time historic low against the US dollar in the inter-bank market. However, its fall meant the gap with open-market rates narrowed, which was earlier under scrutiny as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has prescribed a 1.25% difference in its country report after the Stand-By Arrangement. In the coming days, the rupee is expected to remain under pressure as foreign exchange inflows seemed to have dried up. Globally, the US dollar began on a firm footing on Monday, following five straight weeks of gains, as investors looked ahead to Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium for a guide on where rates might settle when the dust of this hiking cycle clears. The dollar made a gain of 0.7% on the euro last week, inched ahead on the yen and surged by more than 1% on the Antipodean currencies as US Treasury yields leapt in anticipation of interest rates staying higher for longer. Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, rose on Monday as global supply is tightening with lower exports from Saudi Arabia and Russia, offsetting nagging concerns about global demand growth amid high interest rates. This is an intra-day update