The local currency settled at 278.3, a loss of Re0.17 against the US dollar.
During the previous week, the rupee appreciated by Re0.27 or 0.1% against the greenback.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that the local unit closed at 278.13 against 278.40 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback.
Also read: Shares at PSX lose 1,578 points due to political uncertainty
Globally, the US dollar is mixed against the G10 currencies, with the dollar bloc and Norway weaker. The yen is up around 0.45% to lead the others higher. The Swiss franc, euro and sterling are slightly firmer. Most of the emerging market currencies are higher, led by the Mexican peso s 0.40% gain.
The situation emerges after President Biden announced that he will not seek re-election has left investors unsure of the next step, but PredictIt.org still points to a Trump advantage of slightly better than 60-40. It is not clear yet whether Vice-President Harris will be challenged for the nomination.
China cuts its seven-day repo rate, which has been upgraded as a policy tool, and Chinese banks responded by cutting the loan prime rates by 10 bp. The yuan, and a few Asia Pacific currencies are trading with a heavier bias. The Taiwanese dollar is the weakest, off about 0.35%.
The Hang Seng and mainland stocks that trade in Hong Kong rose 1.25%-1.45%, other bourses in the area tumbled. Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Korean markets fell by more than 1%. On the other hand, Europe s Stoxx 600 is snapping a five-day drop and is up almost 1%, led by information technology, consumer discretionary, industrials, and health care.
Also read: Gold prices reach all-time high in local market
Likewise, US index futures are trading firmer after the steep losses in the past three sessions. A little more than a quarter of the S&P 500 are due to report earnings this week. European 10-year bond yields are narrowly mixed today. UK Gilts are underperforming, and the yield is up about 2.5 bp (to ~4.15%). The 10-year US Treasury yield is a basis point softer near 4.23%. Gold is hovering around $2400 after setting a record-high near $2484 last week. September WTI dropped 3.25% before the weekend, and follow-through selling has extended the losses today to about $78.50. That is the lowest level since June 17. Support is now seen int he $77-78 area.
With the help of intervention, real and imagined, and lower US 10-year yields, the yen has quietly strung together a three-week advance. It is the longest such streak this year. However, we suspect this phase is over. After trading quietly in the first half of the local session, the greenback eased to about JPY156.30 before the European morning. It recovered to test JPY157.00 before meeting new sellers. Last week s low (Thursday) was near JPY155.35. The Australian dollar is heavy. The uptrend since the year s low in late April has been convincingly violated. The momentum indicators have turned down. It has returned to the well-worn $0.6600-$0.6700 band.
The flash eurozone and UK PMI are the highlights this week. While the eurozone s manufacturing and services PMI are expected to tick slightly higher, the median forecast in Bloomberg s survey is for a small decline in the composite measure. The UK s July PMI is expected to have risen. The composite had slipped in May and June, and at 52.3, it was the low for the year.
