Intra-day update: rupee strengthens against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 11am, the currency was hovering at 280.43, a gain of Re0.22 against the greenback. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 280.65. Internationally, the US dollar was on track for its best week in over a month on Friday as investors wagered the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut rates next month, with the case for further easing made no clearer by a confounding US jobs report. The release of the delayed US nonfarm payrolls report on Thursday painted a mixed picture of the country’s labour market, showing employment growth accelerated in September, but the jobless rate rose to 4.4%, its highest level in four years.