In a first: Rupee crosses 180-mark against US dollar

• Rupee has depreciated by Rs22.53 since July 1, 2021.
• During day, rupee traded between a range of 179.8 and 181.2.
  
• The rupee had maintained a downward trend for past 10 months.
  

KARACHI: The downtrend in the local currency persisted on Thursday and the rupee fell to a fresh all-time low at Rs180.07 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market owing to expectations of an unsustainable current account deficit.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency shed Rs0.63 or 0.35% against the greenback to settle at Rs180.07.

During the day the local unit traded between the range of 179.8 and 181.2 in the interbank market.

Currency dealers indicated that the demand for the greenback was high despite declining oil prices on the international market.

The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the past 10 months. It has lost 18.25% (or Rs27.8) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.

With a fresh decline of 0.35%, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 14.3% (or Rs22.53) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

The country’s political temperature heated up after the Opposition parties moved a no-confidence motion, seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Pakistan and the IMF’s seventh review talks for the release of the next loan tranche remained inconclusive, following the breaches committed by the government on different fronts.

Moreover, mounting external concerns also compelled the domestic currency to lose ground.

Earlier, JS Global in their analysis predicted that the local currency will drop to Rs182.8 against the greenback by June end, down by 2% from current levels.