Rupee strengthens further against US dollar
The Pakistani rupee maintained its upward trajectory against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% during trading in the inter-bank market on Monday.
At close, the currency settled at 282.66, a gain of Re0.06.
During the previous week, rupee gained further against the US dollar in the inter-bank market as it appreciated by Re0.73 or 0.26%.
The local unit closed at 282.72, against 283.45 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Internationally, a battered US dollar edged marginally higher on Monday after a dismal US jobs report and President Donald Trump's firing of a top labour official stunned investors and led them to ramp up bets of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Data on Friday showed US employment growth undershot expectations in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by a massive 258,000 jobs, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labour market conditions.
Adding to headwinds for markets, Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer the same day, accusing her of faking the jobs numbers.
An unexpected resignation by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler also opened the door for Trump to make an imprint on the central bank much earlier than anticipated. Trump has been at loggerheads with the Fed for not lowering interest rates sooner.
The barrage of developments dealt a one-two punch to the dollar, which sank more than 2% against the yen and roughly 1.5% against the euro on Friday.
The greenback recovered some of its losses against the Japanese currency on Monday, last trading 0.14% higher at 147.60 yen.
The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1560 , while sterling eased 0.1% to $1.3263.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar edged up 0.2% to 98.86, after sliding more than 1% on Friday.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, extended declines on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to another large production hike in September, with concerns about a slowing economy in the US, the world's biggest oil user, adding to the pressure.
Brent crude futures fell 40 cents, or 0.57%, to $69.27 a barrel by 0115 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.96 a barrel, down 37 cents, or 0.55%, after both contracts closed about $2 a barrel lower on Friday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
14 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistani startup Myco takes highest global win of Rs420mn from Tim Draper's global startup reality show
In a historic leap for Pakistan's digital economy, Myco, the fastest-growing video streaming platform in the country, has made global headlines by winning the grand finale of Meet the Drapers, a global startup reality show in Silicon Valley that featured over 2,000 startups around the World. Myco announced that after the due diligence process that followed the finale, they have now secured an investment and a SaaS business deal of Rs42 crores ($1.5 million) which was the highest for Season 9. This was the first time a Pakistani origin startup reached the finale of Tim's venture reality show 'Meet the Drapers' and came out amongst the winners of season 9, placing Pakistan on the global startup map with renewed confidence and visibility. The outcome was amplified this week as Tim Draper assigned a significant SaaS service contract of $1 million in addition to the investment of $500,000 received recently post due diligence thus making Myco the number one startup from the finale in terms of net outcome achieved. It all stated as an initiative by Paklaunch whereby the founder of PakLaunch 'Aly Fahd' convinced Tim Draper to include an episode on Pakistani startups in October 2024 which was the first time Pakistan was included in the globally famed competition. Two Pakistani startups progressed through the televised competition all the way to the semi final and Myco was the only Pakistani startup invited to the grand finale as the most voted global startup being an audience favorite. The finale was recorded in April 2025 in California after which an extensive due diligence exercise was conducted with Myco finally receiving the investment and the SaaS business deal in July 2025. A vote of confidence from Silicon Valley's boldest visionary Tim Draper, a third-generation venture capitalist, is known for his early bets on companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Skype, Coinbase, and Baidu. He has long advocated for decentralisation, fintech, and blockchain-powered platforms that redefine legacy industries. His investment in Myco and the underlying business deal is a global endorsement of Pakistan's emerging role in the future of digital innovation. 'Myco is one of the top Pakistani startups that PakLaunch has been enabling within our network over the past 3 years. The PakLaunch community is thrilled about this achievement as this proves the quality of Pakistani origin entrepreneurs compared to a global stage and Paklaunch is proud of our contribution towards this success story,' said Aly Fahd, Founder Paklaunch from San Francisco. 'Myco combines powerful storytelling, sports culture, and the economics of Web3. This is the future of streaming,' Draper said during Myco's pitch on the international show 'Meet the Drapers', where Myco made its global debut. 'We want our success at the globally acclaimed startup reality show and the outcome we achieved to inspire hundreds of Pakistani entrepreneurs building incredible products across the globe. I am extremely thankful to PakLaunch for laying the foundation for this achievement and am grateful to the entire team at Draper Associates for making us a part of their eco system' said Umair Masoom, Founder & MD, Myco Holdings. More than cricket: building a global sports & content platform While Myco holds rights to premium cricket events including ICC events, PCB & PSL etc but is also one of the few platforms actively investing in non-cricket sports such as: English Premier League for 3 years MMA & Karate Combat Padel, Squash, Volleyball Local tournaments & university events This inclusive content strategy, combined with a growing and South Asian content catalog, positions Myco as a sports and entertainment ecosystem — not just a streaming app. Explosive growth & future outlook 20M+ users in 18 months in Pakistan $1.5M (PKR 42 crore) investment led by Tim Draper Investments 100M+ monthly video impressions, fueling a powerful monetisation engine Active user base in 100+ countries, including Pakistan, UAE, KSA, Egypt, and North America Backed by Aptos Labs, a leading Layer 1 blockchain, to power Myco's upcoming Web3 wallet and reward token ecosystem Set to launch a decentralised content economy enabling users and creators to earn, own, and interact with content assets in real time Targeting 50M+ users by end of 2025 through aggressive regional expansion and telco/media partnerships With this new capital, Myco is scaling its operations across: North America, MENA and South Asia with a countinued focus in Pakistan Exclusive Watch & Earn reward token ecosystem Deepened content & sports partnerships and athlete sponsorships Fintech partnerships across the markets About PakLaunch Paklaunch is a global platform and community founded in 2020 by Aly Fahd, focused on connecting the Pakistani diaspora with the entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem back home. It aims to foster growth in the Pakistani startup scene by providing resources, training, and networking opportunities. Paklaunch hosts events like the Paklaunch Unconference and offers various programs, including a digital accelerator for women entrepreneurs. Today, it's a thriving entrepreneurial community of 350K+ across 30+ countries and multiple platforms, driving startup funding, investments opportunities, and global networking. About Myco Launched from UAE in 2021 by a Pakistani founder, Myco is more than just a video streaming app — it's a next-generation media-tech platform built at the intersection of content, technology, and financial empowerment. Myco delivers a seamless blend of live sports, live TV, entertainment, and a revolutionary Watch & Earn rewards ecosystem. The platform enables users not just to consume content — but to earn real value from their attention and engagement. What sets Myco apart: One of the first Web3-powered video platforms to scale in emerging markets Over 20 million users in Pakistan in just 18 months A curated mix of premium sports (cricket, MMA, squash, padel) and culturally relevant content A growing footprint across Pakistan, UAE, Egypt, KSA, and North America Creator and athlete-first — supporting underserved communities and local talent An ecosystem powered by smart engagement, where time spent watching translates into rewards, utility, and deeper experiences Following its record-breaking win at Meet the Drapers, Myco is now scaling toward becoming the world's leading Web3 entertainment super app — where content meets commerce, and audiences become active participants.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Trump says will ‘substantially' raise tariffs on goods from India over Russian oil purchases
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will substantially raise tariffs on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil. 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 'Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.' He did not elaborate on what the tariff would be. Indian state refiners pause Russian oil purchases, sources say India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump last week said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world's fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty but gave no details. Over the weekend, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite Trump's threats. The sources did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India's biggest refiner buys US, Middle East crude as Trump slams Russia purchases
SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corp has bought 7 million barrels of crude from the United States, Canada and the Middle East, four trade sources said on Monday, as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his criticism of the country over its purchases of Russian oil. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, which is under Western-led sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Its main refiners paused buying Russian oil last week as discounts to other suppliers narrowed after Trump threatened hefty tariffs on imports from countries that make any such purchases, Reuters reported last week. Indian government officials denied any policy change. On Monday, Trump said on Truth Social he would substantially raise the import levy on Indian goods, accusing the country of not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil but 'they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits'. India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. IOC, India's largest refiner, bought crude via a tender from the United States, Canada and the Middle East for September arrival, the trade sources said on Monday. They declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Trump: will 'substantially' raise tariffs on goods from India over Russian oil purchases The refiner bought 4.5 million barrels of U.S. crude, 500,000 barrels of Western Canadian Select (WCS) and two million barrels of Das oil produced in Abu Dhabi, the sources said. The higher-than-normal purchases are partly to replace Russian barrels, two of the sources said. Indian state refiners - IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corp , Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd - had not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, Reuters reported last week. Indian companies do not comment on oil purchases. In IOC's tender that closed on Friday, P66 and Equinor will each ship 1 million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate Midland crude while Mercuria will ship 2 million barrels of the same grade, the sources said. Vitol will deliver 1 million barrels of WTI Midland and WCS, they added. Trafigura will deliver 2 million barrels of Das. Prices for the deals were not immediately available. U.S. criticism of India's oil purchases from Russia sharpened after New Delhi and Washington failed to reach an agreement on a trade deal, prompting the Trump administration to levy a 25% import tariff on Indian goods.
