Rupee hits record low against dollar amid Iran-Israel conflict

The rupee opened at 83.51 against the US dollar.

Mumbai:

The rupee depreciated by 9 paise to 83.53 paise against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and rising crude oil prices.

Negative trends in domestic equities and continued foreign fund outflows also dampened investor sentiment, currency traders said.

Interbank foreign exchange data showed that the rupee opened at 83.51 against the US dollar and touched a low of 83.53 in the first session, down 9 paise from the previous close.

The rupee fell 6 paise to settle at 83.44 paise against the US dollar on Monday.

Anil Kumar Bhansali, treasurer and executive director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said the rupee fell further as foreign portfolio investors continued to buy dollars and sell equities on risk aversion amid tensions in the Middle East and higher US yields.

“One needs to watch how the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) responds to the rupee depreciation,” Bhansali added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 106.34, up 0.13%.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.53% to $90.58 a barrel as Israel weighed its response to an Iranian attack amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

In the domestic stock market, the 30-share BSE Sensex index closed at 73,092.34 points, down 307.44 points or 0.42%. The NSE Nifty index fell 76.50 points, or 0.34%, to 22,196.00 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned out to be net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,268 crore, according to exchange data.

On the macroeconomic front, the country’s wholesale inflation edged up to a three-month high of 0.53% in March from 0.20% in the previous month on higher vegetable, potato, onion and crude oil prices.

In addition, India’s merchandise exports fell slightly to US$41.69 billion in March, down 3.11% to US$437.06 billion in the previous fiscal year, mainly due to continued geopolitical turmoil and sluggish global trade.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)