Intra-day update: rupee strengthens against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.09% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10am, the currency was hovering at 280.52, a gain of Re0.24against the greenback. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 280.76. Globally, the US dollar struggled to claw back steep losses on Friday and was on track for a weekly fall, as investors awaited a backlog of US data following the government’s reopening, which they expect will likely point to a weakening economy. The overnight move lower in the dollar came alongside a selloff in US equities and bonds eerily reminiscent of the market turmoil in April, as investors pared back bets of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. However, expectations of a more hawkish Fed failed to lift the dollar, which fell to a two-week low against the euro overnight.