Mumbai
The Indian rupee has fallen to 84.08 against the US dollar on Friday, close to its lowest point ever. This decline is mainly due to a strong dollar and large outflows of foreign investment. Investors are moving their money to China for better returns, which has caused problems in India’s stock market, leading to a nearly 8% drop in the last two weeks.
On the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 84.07 and traded between 84.07 and 84.09 during the day. It eventually closed at 84.08, just 1 paisa lower than the previous day’s finish. This drop follows another low of 84.10 seen on October 11.
Analysts, like Anuj Choudhary from Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, expect the rupee to continue facing pressure because of the strong US dollar and ongoing foreign selling. He predicts the USD-INR exchange rate may range from Rs 83.90 to Rs 84.30 in the coming days.
The dollar index, which tracks the dollar’s strength against a group of currencies, rose slightly to 103.93. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices increased by 0.51%, reaching USD 74.76 per barrel.
In the stock market, the Sensex fell by 662.87 points (about 0.83%) to end at 79,402.29 points, while the Nifty dropped by 218.60 points (around 0.90%) to 24,180.80 points. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 5,062.45 crore on Thursday, further contributing to market decline.
