- Pakistan Rupee (PKR) consolidates after strong gains last week
- Pakistan’s workers remittances remain over $2 billion
- US Dollar (USD) steady in muted trade
- US CPI awaited tomorrow
The US Dollar Pakistan Rupee (USD/PKR) exchange rate is holding steady at the start of the week after steep losses in the previous week. The pair fell -1.2% across the previous week settling on Friday at 152.94. At 16:10 UTC, USD/PKR trades at the same level that it closed last week at 152.95.
Pakistan’s worker remittances continued their unprecedented run of over $2 billion for the tenth straight month. Remittances rose to $2.7 million in March 2021, 20% higher than the previous month. This was also 43% higher than March 2020.
Across the period July to March full year remittances have risen to $21.5 billion, up by 26% compared to the same period last year. Remittances were mainly from Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and the US.
Remittances have surged across the year the Government and the State Bank of Pakistan sought to encourage the use of more formal channels for inflows.
The US Dollar is trading flat versus the Rupee but trades lower versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades -0.05% at the time of writing at 92.08. The US Dollar is hovering around a two week low.
The US Dollar is trading quietly on Monday, moving past comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the weekend. The Fed Chair gave an optimistic assessment of the economic outlook for the US. However, Jerome Powell also reiterated that the Fed had no plans to raise interest rates any time soon. He also warned that it was key that the economy didn’t reopen too quickly. US covid cases have just started to creep up slowly.
Looking ahead tomorrow sees the release of US inflation data. CPI is expected to increase 0.2% month on month in February, up from 0.1%. A strong reading could send the US Dollar higher.
