Rupee hits historic low of Rs182.19, continues to struggle

• Rupee falls past Rs182-mark against the US dollar today for the first time in Pakistan's history.
• Political unrest, rising commodity prices exert downward pressure on rupee.
• Analyst predicts rupee to depreciate further till the end FY22.

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Monday plunged to yet another record low of Rs182.19 against the US dollar in the interbank market.

Speculative trading due to political unrest, mounting demand for the dollar, rising commodity prices in the international market and other weak economic/political indicators all exerted downward pressure on the rupee.

The rupee fell past the Rs182-mark against the US dollar today for the first time in the interbank market in the history of Pakistan.

Speaking to Geo.tv, Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad said that political uncertainty in the wake of the no-confidence motion submitted against Prime Minister Imran Khan is taking a toll on the local currency.

Read more: Rupee to remain under pressure amid ongoing political tensions

“Whenever there is uncertainty in the country all commodity markets including, the currency market and stock exchange face the wrath of the unrest,” he said, adding that rising commodity prices in the international market is also impacting the movement of the local currency.

The analyst further predicted that the movement of the rupee against the greenback is expected to remain downward till the end of the fiscal year 2021-22.

The Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 15.64% (or Rs24.65) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

The rupee has maintained a downtrend for the past 11 months. It has lost 19.64% (or Rs29.92) to date, compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.

Meanwhile, open market forex rates of other currencies against the Pakistani rupee are as follows: