Interbank closing: PKR gains 0.01 per cent against USD

WEB DESK: The Pakistani rupee (PKR) maintained relative stability against the US dollar (USD) on Tuesday, with a slight appreciation of 0.01 per cent in the inter-bank market.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs278.10, marking a modest increase of Re0.03 compared to the previous day’s rate.

On Monday, the PKR saw a marginal improvement, settling at Rs278.13 against the US dollar, as reported by the SBP.

Oil prices, which often influence currency values, experienced minimal changes on Tuesday following an uptick in the preceding session.

Investors displayed a mixed sentiment regarding the impact of recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian refinery capacity. However, a slightly weaker US dollar provided some support for oil prices.

In specific figures, Brent crude futures for May dipped by 6 cents to reach $86.69 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by 4 cents to $81.91 per barrel as of 0701 GMT.

The rise in oil prices on Monday saw Brent increasing by 1.5 per cent and WTI by 1.6 per cent, prompted by Russia’s government directive to companies to reduce output in the second quarter.

This move aims to meet a target of 9 million barrels per day (bpd) in compliance with commitments to the OPEC+ consumer group.