The Pakistani rupee saw marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.1% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday.
At 10:15am, the currency was hovering at 280.28, a gain of Re0.28 against the greenback.
On Thursday, the currency settled at 280.56.
Internationally, the US dollar struggled to regain its footing with the safe-haven yen hovering near a six-month peak on Friday, as traders took stock of the fallout from President Donald Trump’s aggressive and far-reaching new tariff measures.
The US dollar was steady after bouncing off six-month troughs to the euro and sterling overnight, with the focus now turning to a crucial monthly US payrolls report later in the day for clues on the health of the economy and the outlook for monetary easing.
Trump’s harsher-than-expected tariffs, announced just over 24 hours earlier, had sent shockwaves through markets. Stocks bore the brunt of a searing selloff, sending investors into the safety of assets such as bonds and gold on fears a full-blown trade war could trigger a global recession and fuel inflation.
The US dollar had already been on the back foot this year after initial euphoria over Trump’s policy agenda morphed into worries that his focus on trade barriers could lead to stagflation or even a US recession.
The US dollar index, a measure of the currency against a basket of six major peers, plunged 1.9% on Thursday, its worst day since November 2022.
The greenback edged down 0.15% to 145.89 yen as of 0057 GMT, after alternating between smalls gains and losses in early trading on Friday. It slumped 2.2% in the prior session, and dipped as low as 145.19 yen for the first time since October 2.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, fell further in early Asian trade on Friday, and were on track for the worst week in months over US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, stoking concerns over a global trade war that could weigh on oil demand.
Brent futures fell 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $69.83 a barrel by 0157 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.63. Brent was on course for its biggest weekly loss in percentage terms since the week ended October 14, and WTI since the week ended January 21.
Adding to the bearish sentiment was a decision by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) to advance their plan for oil output increases, with the organisation now aiming to return 411,000 barrels per day to the market in May, up from 135,000 bpd as initially planned.
This is an intraday update
