- Pakistan Rupee (PKR) slips, oil rises 2% on upbeat vaccine news
- State Bank of Pakistan releases Annual Report
- US Dollar (USD) falls after weak retail sales
- Housing starts & permits in focus
The US Dollar Pakistan Rupee (USD/PKR) exchange rate is advancing on Wednesday after trading flat in the previous session. The pair settled at 157.9 on Tuesday the same level that it opened at. At 12:15 UTC, USD/PKR trades 0.1% at 158.04.
The State Bank of Pakistan released its Annual Report on the State of the Economy 2019-20. According to the central bank’s report, implementing tough but necessary stabilisation measures during the first 9 months of the fiscal year has put the Pakistan economy on track for a steady recovery.
Elsewhere oil prices are on the rise supported by more upbeat vaccine news. Pfizer announced that its final results showed that its covid vaccine candidate was found to be 95% effective, in line with Moderna’a vaccine candidate and an improvement on its initial 90% effectiveness revealed from initial findings. The news boosted the future demand outlook for, overshadowing a larger than expected build in inventories. Inventories grew 4.2 million barrels, above the 1.8 million forecast.
The US Dollar trades marginally higher versus the Pakistan Rupee; however, it trades marginally lower versus its major peers. The US Dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major peers trades -0.07% lower.
US Dollar weakness comes following softer than expected retail sales data in the previous session. US retail sales rose +0.3% month on month in October versus 0.5% expected and a significant fall from September’s 1.6% increase. The data shows that US consumption started to slow as covid cases started to rise again, boosting fears that tighter lockdown restrictions could de rail the US economic recovery.
Looking ahead investors could turn towards US housing starts and permits, mid-tier data for further clues over the health of the US economy.
