Rupee Sinks To New Low, Tanks 61 Paise To Fall Below 83-Mark Against US Dollar

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 82.32 but later pared gains to settle at an all-time low of 83.01(provisional) against the US currency

The Indian currency plunged 61 paise to fall below the 83-mark for the first time against the US dollar on Wednesday amid unabated foreign capital outflows and a strong dollar in the overseas markets, the PTI reported. Besides, rising crude prices in the global markets and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local currency, traders said.

According to the report, at the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 82.32 but later pared gains to settle at an all-time low of 83.01(provisional) against the American currency, down 61 paise over its previous close. In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee slipped 10 paise to end at 82.40 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.31 per cent to 112.48.

As the dollar gains strength, other global currencies continue to be hammered. The British pound fell 0.6 per cent to 1.1247, while the Japanese yen dropped as low as 149.48, its weakest since 1990 and edging closer to the psychological 150 level. The dollar index gained 0.3 per cent.

On the domestic front, inflation is creating worries among policymakers as the Reserve Bank of India has already raised fourth straight increases since May to tame the surging inflation. The RBI during its last monetary policy on September 30, announced a 50 basis point hike in the repo rate to 5.9 per cent.

The rates for the standing deposit facility (SDF) and the marginal standing facility (MSF) were also raised by 50 basis points to 5.65 per cent and 6.15 per cent, respectively. The central bank also withdrew accommodative stance while supporting growth. Das had mentioned that the real GDP growth for FY23 is projected at 7 per cent.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 146 points (0.25 per cent) to end at 59,107, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 25 points (0.14 per cent) to 17,512.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 153.40 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. 

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.82 per cent to $90.77 per barrel.