Indian currency, rupee, crashed 27 paise to hit a new lifetime low of 86.31 against the US dollar in the morning trading hours on Monday, January 13, dragged down by a robust American currency amid volatile global cues.
The rupee’s slide show was also accentuated by a record surge in crude oil prices, sustained outflow of foreign capital from India and a negative trend in domestic equity markets, market participants said.
The fall in rupee exchange value will be good news for expat Indians, especially those who work in the Gulf region who regularly make remittances to their family members back home, as they can get more bucks for every dollar.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.12 and fell to the historic low level of 86.31 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a steep loss of 27 paise from its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee declined 18 paise to settle at 86.04 against the US dollar.
Forex traders said the dollar strengthened on better-than-expected job growth in the US market, which also fuelled the benchmark treasury yields amid expectations of a slower interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
US employers added 256,000 jobs last month, compared to the 160,000 jobs expected by economists that were polled by Reuters, leading to the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipping to 4.1 per cent.
For speculators, the latest US job numbers provided one more reason to hold bearish bets on rupee, traders said.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.22 per cent to its over two-year-high level of 109.72.
The 10-year US bond yields remained elevated touching its October 2023 level at 4.76 per cent.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged 1.44 per cent to $80.91 per barrel in futures trade.
