PKR edges up against USD, PSX holds ground in positive zone 

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee registered a slight gain against the US dollar during early trading hours in the interbank market on Friday, appreciating by 0.1 per cent. 

As trading opened, the local currency was being quoted at Rs281.83, up 24 paisa from the previous session, according to exchange companies. With this marginal rise, the rupee appears set to end the last trading day of the month with a modest gain against the greenback. 

The currency has remained relatively stable in recent weeks. Since the start of the current fiscal year, the rupee has weakened by Rs3.73, or 1.32 per cent, against the US dollar. On a calendar year basis, it has depreciated by Rs3.52, or 1.25 per cent. 

On the global front, the US dollar softened on Friday and was on track for its fifth consecutive monthly decline. Investors remained cautious amid concerns over trade policies and fiscal outlook, with markets awaiting key inflation data later in the day. The greenback experienced a volatile week, closing lower in the previous session after a federal court temporarily reinstated former President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs, reversing an earlier trade court decision. 

Previous interbank closing 

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the rupee closed Thursday’s interbank session at Rs282.07, gaining 10.40 paisa or 0.04 per cent compared to Wednesday’s closing rate of Rs282.17. 

During the day, the currency recorded an intraday high of Rs282.50 and a low of Rs284.40. In the open market, exchange companies quoted the dollar at Rs282.50 for buying and Rs284.40 for selling. 

PKR performance against major currencies (May 29) 

Chinese Yuan: Down 1.61 paisa (0.04 per cent) to close at Rs39.24 

UAE Dirham: Gained 2.83 paisa (0.04 per cent) to close at Rs76.80 

British Pound: Appreciated by Rs2.02 (0.53 per cent) to Rs379.82 from Rs381.84 

Saudi Riyal: Up 3.17 paisa (0.04 per cent) to Rs75.20 

Euro: Strengthened by Rs2.06 (0.64 per cent) to close at Rs318.10 

Swiss Franc: Gained Rs2.15 (0.63 per cent) to settle at Rs339.99 

Japanese Yen: Rose by 2.14 paisa (1.09 per cent) to Rs1.9422 from Rs1.9636 

PSX intraday update 

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) also opened on a positive note on Friday, the final trading day of the month. The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 531.72 points to reach 119,503.12 at around 9:34 AM, with a volume of 10.57 million shares. 

By 11:15 AM, the gains had pared slightly, with the index up by 118.35 points at 119,089.75. Volume at that time had increased significantly to 74.95 million shares. 

This followed Thursday’s strong performance, where the KSE-100 Index closed at 118,971.40, up 638.50 points or 0.54 per cent. The index remained in the green throughout the day, hitting an intraday high of 119,639.47 (up 1,306.57 points) and a low of 118,481.97 (up 149.07 points). Total traded volume for Thursday stood at 315.84 million shares. 

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