 "Rupee ends at fresh 29-mth low of 68.30, down 44 paise")
The rupee on Thursday plummeted by 44 paise to end at an over 29-month low of 68.30 a dollar on fresh demand for the US currency from banks and importers in view of sharp fall in equities amid foreign capital outflows.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 751.33 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
The domestic unit resumed lower at 67.95 a dollar against Wednesday’s closing level of 67.86 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and fell further to 68.3450 before finishing at more than 29-month low at 68.30, showing a loss of 44 paise.
The domestic unit moved in a range of 67.90 and 68.34 a dollar during the day.
Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity Financial Services said, “As expected, the rupee opened on a negative note and since opening trades we saw the rupee depreciating. We saw loss in the rupee extending as it breached the lower level of 68. The fall in rupee was mainly on back of global as well as domestic equity market ‘SELL-OFF’.
“Our benchmark index Nifty lost nearly 240 points for the day. Trading range for spot $/Rs pair is expected to be within 67.8 to 68.7 levels.”
“Our equity markets are tanking and that’s getting reflected in the currency’s movement,” said Gaurav Sharma, a senior currency analyst at Religare Commodities Ltd in Noida. “The rupee will chart its own course once the sell-off abates.”
The rupee’s slide belies improvements in Asia’s third-largest economy, which has seen plunging oil prices help narrow its current-account deficit from a record and the pace of economic growth overtaking China’s. Investors will be watching the annual budget on February 29 for signs of progress in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda.
Indian sovereign bonds ended little changed on Thursday, with the yield on notes due January 2026 at 7.72 per cent, prices from the central bank’s trading system show.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 751.33 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
The domestic unit resumed lower at 67.95 a dollar against Wednesday’s closing level of 67.86 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and fell further to 68.3450 before finishing at more than 29-month low at 68.30, showing a loss of 44 paise.
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The rupee had slumped to its all-time closing low of 68.80 a dollar on August 28, 2013, after touching the record intra-day low of 68.85 the same day.
The domestic unit moved in a range of 67.90 and 68.34 a dollar during the day.
Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity Financial Services said, “As expected, the rupee opened on a negative note and since opening trades we saw the rupee depreciating. We saw loss in the rupee extending as it breached the lower level of 68. The fall in rupee was mainly on back of global as well as domestic equity market ‘SELL-OFF’.
“Our benchmark index Nifty lost nearly 240 points for the day. Trading range for spot $/Rs pair is expected to be within 67.8 to 68.7 levels.”
“Our equity markets are tanking and that’s getting reflected in the currency’s movement,” said Gaurav Sharma, a senior currency analyst at Religare Commodities Ltd in Noida. “The rupee will chart its own course once the sell-off abates.”
The rupee’s slide belies improvements in Asia’s third-largest economy, which has seen plunging oil prices help narrow its current-account deficit from a record and the pace of economic growth overtaking China’s. Investors will be watching the annual budget on February 29 for signs of progress in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda.
Indian sovereign bonds ended little changed on Thursday, with the yield on notes due January 2026 at 7.72 per cent, prices from the central bank’s trading system show.