Rupee weakens 1% in two days as renewed talks of 'hawkish' Fed boost dollar

Record high trade deficit, technical factors add to woes

The rupee weakened sharply against the US dollar on Thursday as Federal Reserve officials said the US central bank would continue with steep rate increases, prompting the greenback to gain globally.

A fresh record monthly trade deficit in July also added to the rupee’s woes, causing the domestic currency to underperform its emerging market peer currencies, traders said.

The domestic currency closed at 79.47 per dollar as against 79.16 to a dollar on Wednesday. Over the past couple of days, the rupee has shed 1 per cent against the dollar, taking the depreciation for 2022 as a whole so far