Pakistan rupee registered a gain for the first time in a week as oil prices retreated, with the currency appreciating 0.07% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 178.51 after a day-on-day appreciation of 12 paisas, or 0.07%. The rupee last registered a gain on March 4, before depreciating for three successive sessions and remaining stable on Thursday. During the week, the rupee hit an all-time low of 178.63 against the US dollar.

The gain comes as oil prices stabilised on Friday and were on track for their biggest weekly drop since November, after see-sawing on fears of escalating bans on Russian oil versus efforts to bring more supply to market from other major producers.

In a week of volatile trading marked by talk of Russian oil embargoes, plus potential supply additions from Iran, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates as fighting escalated in Ukraine, Brent was on track for a weekly fall of about 7% after hitting a 14-year high of $139.13.

At the same time, remittances crossed the $20-billion mark during the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year, according to SBP data released on Thursday, with the market now keenly awaiting the current account figures.

AAH Soomro, former managing director at KASB Securities, pointed out that remittance growth has slowed down but is still keeping the country afloat for import payment.

"Sustainable, value adding, technology-led and lower-import-linked export growth [is] needed," he tweeted.

Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 178.65

OFFER Rs 178.75

Open-market movement

In the open market, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 178.80 and 179.80, respectively.

Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.40 rupees for buying and 1.50 rupees for selling, closing at 195.50 and 197.50, respectively.

Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 30 paisas for both buying and selling, closing at 48.92 and 49.40, respectively.

Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR remained unchanged for both buying and selling, closing at 47.10 and 47.55, respectively.

Open-market rates for dollar on Friday

BID Rs 178.80

OFFER Rs 179.80

This article was originally published in Business Recorder on March 11, 2022.