The US dollar is higher against the Pakistani rupee on Thursday.
- Pakistani rupee caught up in Emerging Market currency sell-off
- US dollar steady near its highs despite higher jobs claims, lower business confidence
- PM Imran Khan: Pakistan will not have diplomatic relations with Israel
USD/INR was higher by 90 pips (+0.54%) to 168.5 as of 3pm GMT. The US dollar-Pakistani rupee exchange rate is higher by 0.58% this week.
The currency pair has risen 4 of the last 5 days, and is up near record highs.
PKR: Pakistani rupee slides with EM FX
The Pakistani rupee was caught up in a broad-based move lower in Emerging Market and Asian currencies on Thursday. The weakness was in concert with a renewed strength in the US dollar, which jumped after less dovish than expected Fed minutes.
As it relates to international relations, it seems Pakistan will not follow suit on the UAE coming to an agreement with Israel. Prime Minister Imrn Khan reportedly said in a TV interview that “Our policy on Israel is clear: The Quaid-i-Azam had said that Pakistan can never accept state of Israel until the people of Palestine get rights and an independent state.”
USD: Dollar unfazed after jobless claims over 1 million
The greenback gained against the Pakistani rupee in early trading, reflecting flows into the US dollar following Federal Reserve minutes. It held the gains through Thursday despite softer than expected US employment and business confidence data.
US initial jobless claims came in at 1,106,000 when a reading of 920,000 was expected, taking it back over the notable 1 million claims per week in what investors might view as a deceleration of a positive trend in rising employment. The positive news was that continuing jobless claims were 14,844,000, taking them back below 15 million.
The Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey showed its business activity index fall to 17.2 versus 24.1 last month. A worrying internal component of the survey was the index for the number of employees dropping back to 9.0 vs. 20.1 last month.
