Dollar continues to rise as rupee loses 0.05%

• Rupee closes at Rs168.10 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday.
• The rupee hit a 22-month high of Rs152.27 in May 2021 and since then it has depreciated by 9.4%.
• The rupee may fluctuate a bit as all eyes are on the SBP that will announce a monetary policy on Sept 20.

KARACHI: The rupee lost around 0.05% against the US dollar on Monday in the inter-bank market as currency experts believe that the downward trend would continue this week.

The dollar closed at Rs168.10 compared to Rs168.02 — the lowest level since August 2020 — on Friday.

The rupee hit a 22-month high of Rs152.27 in May 2021 but since then it has been on a downturn and has depreciated by 9.4%.

The local currency is expected to move within the range of 168-168.40 during the ongoing week.

The rupee may fluctuate a bit as all eyes are on the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) that will announce a monetary policy on September 20.

The players tend to remain cautious ahead of the central bank’s monetary policy decision and as they would wait to see what stance SBP will take on interest rates before assuming fresh positions.

Moreover, there is also uncertainty regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Earlier, speaking to Geo.tv, Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Tahir Abbas had said: "All eyes are on the IMF review — due later this month. If the IMF resumes the $6 billion programme, pressure on the local currency will ease. ”