The Pakistani rupee posted a slight gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday, appreciating by 0.01%.
By the close of trading, the local currency settled at 278.82, strengthening by Rs0.03 compared to the greenback. On Friday, it had closed at 278.85.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday raised the policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 11.50% during its third Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2026.
In global markets, the US dollar began Mondayâs session stronger, keeping the Japanese yen close to the key 160 level ahead of the Bank of Japanâs policy decision later in the week.
The euro declined by 0.14% to $1.1706, while the British pound fell 0.12% to $1.35155.
The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six major counterparts, stood at 98.623.
The greenback had gained in March due to safe-haven demand as â the war erupted, but later gave up most of those gains on expectations of a potential peace agreement this month. It has stabilized in recent days after USâIran talks stalled.
In addition, oil prices surged nearly 3% on Monday.
Brent crude increased by $3, or about 2.9%, reaching $108.36 per barrel at 0828 GMTâits highest level in three weeks.
US West Texas Intermediate rose $2.45, or 2.6%, to $96.85. Brent and WTI recorded weekly gains of nearly 17% and 13%, respectively, marking their largest increases since the start of the war.
