Rupee Falls To Lowest In More Than A Year Against Dollar

The weakness in the rupee continued today. The currency fell by 28 paise to breach the 66-level against the US dollar today, its lowest since March 2017. At day's low, rupee fell to 66.07 at day's low against the US dollar. Indian bond yields spiked today after the minutes of the monetary policy panel meeting suggested that they were likely to take a more hawkish tone starting as early as June.
On Thursday, the rupee had lost 14 paise to close at a fresh 13-month low of Rs 65.80 as growing worries over higher crude prices and likely fiscal slippages led to subdued forex market sentiments.

5 Things To Know About Rupee's Slide Today Vs Dollar

Dealers also attributed the rupee's fall to dollar gains against other currencies overseas, persistent foreign fund outflows and weakness in the domestic equity markets.

The US dollar index was steady at 89.956 today. The dollar index measures the greenback against a basket of currencies.

The Sensex was down over 50 points in mid-morning trade today. Global crude prices have risen close to $75 a barrel, its highest since November, 2014.

The Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy members flagged several concerns, including an increase in minimum support prices for farmers and high and volatile crude oil prices, the minutes released post market hours on Thursday showed. The RBI this month kept its policy repo rate unchanged at 6 percent for the fourth straight meeting and retained its "neutral" stance.

The RBI minutes were hawkish as opposed to the actual policy, said forex advisory firm IFA Global. Foreign portfolio investors have been selling big in the domestic debt markets and may continue to do so, it added.