Rupee hits fresh all-time low of 92.44 against US dollar as oil prices sour amid Middle East tensions
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.33 and kept weakening to hit the new intra-day low of 92.44 per dollar.
PTC News Desk: The Indian Rupee fell to a new record low of 92.44 against the US Dollar during intra-day trading on Friday, dropping 19 paise from its previous close. The fall came as global crude oil prices rose sharply due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Forex traders said a stronger dollar, heavy foreign investor outflows and continued selling in Indian stock markets also put pressure on the rupee.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.33 and kept weakening to hit the new intra-day low of 92.44 per dollar. It later closed 24 paise lower at a record low of 92.25 against the dollar.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US currency against six major currencies, was slightly higher at 99.77. Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent Crude rose nearly 5% to $96.57 per barrel in futures trade.
Indian stock markets also declined sharply. The BSE Sensex dropped 917.69 points (1.21%) to 75,116.73, while the Nifty 50 fell 308.40 points (1.30%) to 23,330.75.
Data from the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹7,049.87 crore on Thursday.
At the same time, government data showed that retail inflation in India increased to 3.21% in February, compared with 2.74% in January, mainly because of rising food prices.