- Pakistan Rupee (PKR) extends gains
- LSM +9.1% YoY
- US Dollar (USD) traces bond yields high
- Speech by President Biden in focus
The US Dollar Pakistan Rupee (USD/PKR) exchange rate is extending losses on Thursday for a fifth straight session. The pair settled -0.4% in the previous session at 155.75. At 10:45 UTC, USD/PKR trades -0.06% at 155.65.
Large scale manufacturing (LSM) continues to rebound at the start of the year. January 2021 saw the highest monthly index value for LSM at 175, registering 9.1% growth year on year. Across the 7 months of FY21 LSM growth registered 7.85%.
The overall LSM recovery appears to be more broad based than earlier with the number of items reporting positive growth significantly increasing over recent months. In January 60% of LSM items returned to positive growth, up from 50% at the start of the FY.
The US Dollar is mildly lower versus the Rupee. However, it is pushing higher versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index which measures the greenback versus a basket of 6 majors, trades +0.2% at 91.62 at the time of writing. It is paring losses from the previous session.
The US Federal Reserve, as expected, kept monetary policy unchanged. The central bank did hike economic growth expectations considerably. GDP growth of 6.5% is now expected this year up from 4.3% previously expected. Inflation forecasts were also lifted with inflation now expected to reach 2.4% this year.
The Fed stuck with its accommodative stance, saying that it believed that the spike in inflation would be temporary. Even though treasury yields rose, the US Dollar declined. Today, US inflation fears continue to rise amid fears that the Fed’s non-action will lead to an overheating in the US economy.
The benchmark 10 year treasury yield has jumped to a fresh 13 month high at 1.72% and the US Dollar has traced yields higher.
Looking ahead US jobless claims data will be in focus.
