Intra-day update: rupee gains further ground against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee saw significant improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.07% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At 10:15am, the local currency was hovering at 280.80, up by Re0.21 against the US dollar, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The local unit closed at 281.01 on Monday. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SBP on Monday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%. The committee noted that headline inflation rose significantly to 5.6% in September, whereas core inflation remained unchanged at 7.3%. Globally, the US dollar was weaker on Tuesday ahead of a slate of central bank meetings that will likely see a rate cut in the US and as investors kept a wary eye on President Donald Trump’s Asia tour, hoping for a trade deal with China. While early signs of easing trade tensions between the world’s top two economies led to a risk rally on Monday, with the dollar slipping against rivals, investors are apprehensive any real Sino-US deal may offer far less to celebrate.