New Delhi: At a time when everyone in the country is waiting for the last scene of the Maharashtra political drama, the rupee has continued to slide. It depreciated further by 11 paise to 67.59 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
Dealers attributed the rupee’s fall to persistent demand for the US currency, but dollar’s weakness against euro and other currencies overseas and a higher opening in the domestic equity market restricted the loss.
The domestic unit closed lower by 17 paise at 67.48 in yesterday’s trade on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers amidst weakness in equities.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex recovered 30.41 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 26,843.19 in early deals.
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At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 78.86 against the American dollar, then lost ground to quote at 78.96 — its all-time low level, registering a fall of 11 paise from the last close. On Tuesday, the rupee plunged by 48 paise to close at a record low of 78.85 against the US dollar. The rupee opened weaker against the dollar on Wednesday as a renewed focus on the weak economic outlook prompted losses in Asian currencies and shares, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could be present to curb volatility, but the strength of crude oil could cap appreciation bias,” Iyer said, adding that the range for the rupee on Wednesday is 78.50-79.10. The rupee has lost 1.87 per cent so far this month and has eroded a staggering 6.28% since the start of this year. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.88 per cent to $116.94 per barrel. When Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat and the value of rupee fell, he said that if the value of rupee falls, the country loses its prestige. Now that he is the Prime Minister and the value of rupee is depreciating with each passing day, he is keeping mum.
