The Pakistani rupee saw marginal improvement against the US dollar as it appreciated 0.04% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

At 10:40am, the rupee was hovering at 279.78, an increase of Re0.10 in the inter-bank market. On Wednesday, the rupee had depreciated 0.16% to settle at 279.88 against the US dollar.

In a related development, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) imposed penalties worth Rs83.2 million on four banks during the quarter ending September 30, 2023, for non-compliance with legal or regulatory requirements.

Globally, the US dollar was firm on Thursday, hovering near a one-week high as Treasury yields rose and investor appetite for riskier currencies dimmed, while the yen breached 150 per dollar to keep traders jittery about the prospect of intervention.

US GDP data due later on Thursday is a key event risk for dollar/yen, according to Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, who said a strong report may pressure US yields higher and result in the yen testing fresh lows.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was at 106.58, just shy of the one-week high of 106.61 it touched on Wednesday.

Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, fell on Thursday after a rise in US crude stockpiles and a climb in the dollar index, giving up some ground gained a day earlier when prices jumped on Middle East tensions.

Brent crude futures declined by 28 cents or 0.3% to $89.95 a barrel at 0340 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 18 cents or 0.2% to $85.21 a barrel.