17th consecutive decline: Pakistani rupee settles at Rs288.14 vs dollar

WEB DESK: In the 17th consecutive session, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) continued its decline against the US dollar, depreciating by 0.09 per cent in the interbank market on Wednesday.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Pakistani currency settled at Rs288.14, marking a decrease of Re0.27.

A day prior, on Tuesday, the rupee experienced a 0.11 per cent depreciation, settling at Rs287.87 against the US dollar.

The international scenario saw the US dollar struggling at lower levels on Wednesday, following a slump overnight.

This drop was attributed to a surprisingly softer US inflation reading, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve has concluded its monetary tightening cycle.

The US dollar’s decline triggered a rally for several peer currencies, positioning the euro just below a more than two-month high reached on Tuesday.

This flurry of activity in the currency market was ignited by data revealing that US consumer prices remained unchanged in October.

Read more: Pakistanis may get no relief as govt likely to increase petrol price

The annual increase in underlying inflation was reported as the smallest in two years.

Over the 12 months through October, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.2 per cent, falling below economists’ estimates and down from the 3.7 per cent recorded in September.

The dollar index, a measure of the currency against a basket of peers, was at 104.13 in the Asian morning, slightly off Tuesday’s two-month low of 103.98.

Meanwhile, oil prices experienced a dip on Wednesday, with indications suggesting that the United States, as the world’s leading oil producer, may have reached peak production.

This offset positive signals of crude demand from China, the top consumer.

Brent futures were down by 34 cents, settling at $82.13 a barrel at 0949 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined by 40 cents to $77.86.