Mumbai: The rupee on Monday crashed to its lowest-ever level of 90.80 before settling at a new all-time low of 90.78 against the US dollar, registering a loss of 29 paise over its previous close, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said prevailing risk-averse market sentiment, compounded by strong US dollar demand from importers, further dented investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then lost ground and fell to a record intra-day low of 90.80, registering a 31-paise decline from its previous close.
At the end of trade on Monday, the rupee was quoted at a record low of 90.78, down 29 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
“The Indian rupee plunged to a record low, positioning it as the worst performer among the Asian currencies. Despite the better-than-expected trade balance number, the rupee was unable to find support,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
Parmar further noted, “This lack of resilience is primarily attributed to a significant demand-supply imbalance, driven by high dollar demand from importers and persistent capital outflows, which remain the biggest concerns for the currency.”
“In the near term, the technical bias for the spot USD-INR pair remains bullish, with key resistance at 90.95 and support at 90.50,” Parmar added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent lower at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.21 per cent higher at $61.25 per barrel in futures trade.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves jumped by $1.033 billion to $687.26 billion during the week ended December 5, the RBI said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $1.877 billion to $686.227 billion.