Pakistan rupee registers gain against US dollar

According to Business Recorder, the Pakistani rupee edged up against the US dollar on Friday, closing at 277.41 in the inter-bank market. That was Rs0.01 stronger than the 277.42 level at which it had settled on Thursday. The inter-bank bid stood at 277.41 with an offer of Rs277.61.

In the open market, the rupee lost 3 paise on the buying side against the dollar and was unchanged for selling, closing at Rs278.29 and Rs279.15. Against the euro, it weakened by 86 paise for buying and 83 paise for selling, ending at 322.53 and 325.32. Elsewhere, the Japanese yen held onto its gains against the dollar, while the dollar index was flat at 99.01.

Oil prices climbed to six-week highs on Thursday as fresh US strikes on Iran and Israeli warnings aimed at Tehran fed fears of supply disruption in the Middle East. Brent crude was quoted at $97.29 a barrel by 1200 GMT, up $1.66 or 1.7%, while West Texas Intermediate gained 2.2% to $93.04. Both benchmarks were on course for a fourth consecutive day of gains.