On Friday, the rupee fell 23 paise to close at 76.17 – its lowest close since December 15, 2021
On Friday, the rupee fell 23 paise to close at 76.17 – its lowest close since December 15, 2021
The rupee plummeted 84 paise to close at a lifetime low of 77.01 (tent) against the US dollar on March 7th as rising geopolitical risks stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed investors into safe havens.
Forex traders said escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine kept crude oil prices high and fueled concerns about domestic inflation and wider trade deficits.
Continued outflows of foreign funds and a lackluster performance in domestic equities also weighed on investor sentiment.
In the interbank FX market, the rupee opened at 76.85 against the US currency but lost ground to trade at a record low of 77.01 for the day, 84pa below the previous close.
On Friday, the rupee fell 23 paise to close at 76.17 – its lowest close since December 15, 2021.
“The Indian rupee has fallen to an all-time low against the US dollar as the deepening Russia-Ukraine conflict has reduced risk appetite in the market while prompting safe-haven flows into the US dollar,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, vice president for Commodities and Currencies Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Also, the parabolic rise in crude oil prices to multi-year highs and rising commodity prices are fueling inflationary risks, which are key headwinds for the rupee-dollar exchange rate, Sachdeva added.
According to Mr Sachdeva, the overall trend of the Indian rupee is down and “a convincing close below the 77 level would pave the way for further downside towards the 77.50 level in the short-term while we envision testing the local currency 79 Mark from a medium-term perspective”. Meanwhile, the Dollar Index, which gauges the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.46% higher to 99.09.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 6.55% to $125.85 a barrel.
On the domestic stock market front, the 30-stock Sensex finished 1,491.06 points, or 2.74%, lower at 52,842.75, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 382.20 points, or 2.35%, to 15,863.15.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday, selling 7,631.02 crore of shares, according to stock market data.
