Dollar and Other Currency Rates in Pakistan Today, 07 Jan. 2026

Karachi, 07 January 2026 – The Pakistani rupee held its ground in the second trading session of the new year, with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fixing the USD/PKR mark-to-market currency rate at Rs 280.0621, a hair-thin 1 paisa below last close** and the leanest print since the holiday lull.

Priority Currencies – Quick Take

1.US Dollar (USD) – 280.06 (spot)

The single-paisa slip keeps the greenboard glued to the 280 handle, well inside the 279–282 band that has framed trade since October. One-week forwards sit at 280.38, implying a wafer-thin 0.11 % carry. Exporters continue to sell above 280.50, while oil importers nibble below 280.00.

“Liquidity is ample; the currency rate is drifting on positional tidy-ups rather than fresh macro cues,” said a senior treasury dealer.

2. British Pound (GBP) – 379.86 (spot)

Sterling grabs headline space at 379.86 after UK wage data cooled BoE rate-cut bets; one-year forward is 393.76, implying 3.7 % annualised rupee softness. Textile exporters to Manchester are locking in six-month receivables above 382, keeping forward points well bid.

3. Saudi Riyal (SAR) – 74.68

SAR edges 1 paisa lower to 74.68; 12-month forward is 77.26, an annualised 3.4 %—still the tightest curve among major remittance corridors. Exchange booths see steady demand from Umrah travellers locking in ahead of the January rush.

4. UAE Dirham (AED) – 76.25

AED softens 1 paisa to 76.25; six-month forward is 77.48, implying 3.2 % annualised rupee softness. UAE salary inflows remain anchored to formal banking, keeping the pair quietly stable.

5. Qatari Riyal (QAR) – 76.83

QAR slips 1 paisa to 76.83; 12-month forward is 80.13, a 4.3 % annualised gap—virtually identical to SAR and AED, underscoring uniform Gulf-peg calm.

6. Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD) – 916.73

KWD adds Rs 5.1 to 916.73 on the firmer USD cross. Twelve-month forwards at 963.09 equate to 5.1 % annualised PKR weakness—marginally wider than GCC peers owing to thinner dinar liquidity.

7. Australian Dollar (AUD) – 188.72

The “Aussie” rebounds to 188.72 as iron-ore steadies above $103/t. One-year forward is 195.96, implying 3.9 % annualised rupee deprecation—almost flat against the SAR curve, confirming commodity-driven moves.

8. Canadian Dollar (CAD) – 202.58

The “Loonie” slips to 202.58 as WTI crude eases to $76/bbl. Twelve-month forwards at 214.00 still pencil out to 5.6 % annualised rupee softness, but importers of prairie pulses are said to have covered February shipments early, capping further CAD losses.

Other Major Currencies

Euro opens at 327.17, down 0.3 % on the week after softer German CPI data; one-year forward is 346.57, translating into 5.9 % annualised rupee weakness. Japanese yen remains the cheapest major at 1.79 per unit, but forwards price 7.1 % annualised PKR decline—the steepest among G-10 pairs. Swiss franc is 351.68; Singapore dollar 218.52; Swedish krona 30.38; Norwegian krone 27.79; Danish krone 43.78; New Zealand dollar 162.68; Chinese yuan 40.07; Turkish lira 6.50; Russian ruble 3.48; Indian rupee 3.11; Bangladeshi taka 2.29—all inside well-worn ranges and implying no event-risk premium ahead of the IMF’s first-quarter 2026 review.

Market Context & Outlook

The uniformly slender forward premiums—barely 5–6 % annualised even for the least-liquid pairs—tell currency desks that both importers and exporters believe the State Bank has enough cover to defend the rupee through the winter remittance season. Reserves have risen $1.5 billion in six weeks to $20.9 billion, while the real effective exchange rate (REER) slipped to 98.2 in November, a level the IMF considers “competitive but not undervalued.” Unless oil spikes above $90 or political noise disrupts the Fund programme, traders expect the USD currency rate to remain hand-cuffed to the 278–282 corridor for the opening quarter of 2026, dragging the rest of the currency mosaic along in its slipstream.