The Pakistani rupee recorded marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.05% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the currency settled at 278.72 for a gain of Re0.13 against the greenback. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 278.85 on Wednesday. Globally, the US dollar steadied against major peers on Thursday, continuing its near paralysis of the past two days before more concrete announcements on tariffs from US President Donald Trump. A spate of central bank policy decisions are also due over the next week, with the Bank of Japan widely expected to raise interest rates at the end of a two-day meeting on Friday.