Intra-day update: rupee maintains its grip over US dollar, now below 280

The Pakistani rupee continued to strengthen against the US dollar, gaining 0.43% during trading in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At 12:30pm, the rupee was hovering at 279.30, an increase of Rs1.21, in the inter-bank market. On Tuesday, the rupee had appreciated 0.41% to settle at 280.51. This is one of the longest appreciations runs seen by the rupee against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, and comes in large part due to the authorities’ crackdown on smuggling and hoarding of foreign currency as well as reforms in the Exchange Companies’ sector. Globally, the US dollar dipped broadly on Wednesday, tracking a slide in U.S. Treasury yields weighed down by dovish Federal Reserve comments, as traders looked to the central bank’s policy meeting minutes out later in the day for clues on its interest rate outlook. A slew of Fed officials have signalled in recent days that the U.S. central bank may not need to tighten monetary policy much further than initially thought. The comments pushed the greenback to a two-week trough against a basket of currencies in the previous session, with the dollar index languishing near that level in early Asia trade. It last stood at 105.66. Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, edged higher on Wednesday as investors grappled with the prospect of supply disruptions due to the Middle East turmoil. Israel produces very little crude oil, but markets are worried that the conflict could escalate and hurt Middle East supply, worsening an expected deficit for the rest of the year. This is an intra-day update