The Pakistani rupee marginally improved against the US dollar, appreciating 0.05% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 278.71 after a gain of Re0.15 against the greenback. The rupee closed at 278.86 on Thursday, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Globally, the Japanese yen was poised for its strongest weekly performance in over a month as expectations grow that the Bank of Japan will raise rates next week, putting the US dollar on the back foot ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The yen has climbed 1.5% against the US dollar this week, its strongest weekly run since late November. It was last a tad weaker at 155.34 per dollar on Friday but still close to the one-month high of 155.10 it touched on Thursday. The euro was steady at $1.03035 and sterling was little changed at $1.22355 in early trading.