Rupee Off Record Lows, But Still Within Striking Distance Of 79 Per Dollar

The rupee recovered a touch on Thursday, halting a six-day record weak closes streak, but remained within striking distance of the psychologically significant 79-to-a-dollar rate, which the currency breached in the previous session. 

Bloomberg showed the rupee at 78.9738 on Thursday, while Reuters had the Indian currency last changing hands at 78.915 per dollar. PTI said the rupee gained 5 paise to close at 78.98, provisionally, against the greenback.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 78.92 against the dollar and witnessed a high of 78.90 and a low of 78.99, according to PTI. The currency finally settled at 78.98, a rise of 5 paise over its previous close.

As concerns about higher prices and surging inflation came back to the forefront in the previous session, the rupee breached the 79 per dollar rate for the first time on record. That marked the sixth straight session of all-time weak closing.

According to PTI, the rupee fell 18 paise to a record low close of 79.03 per dollar on Wednesday due to the ongoing foreign capital exodus caused by wagers to flee to safety.

But Bloomberg has the rupee's intra-day low at 78.985 per dollar. While that is below the 79-to-a-dollar mark, it is only whiskers away from that rate and within striking distance of that key level.

"The near-term outlook remains bearish for the rupee amid foreign fund outflows and risk-averse moods. The spot USD-INR's support level is at 78.38 and resistance at 79.10," Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, told PTI. 

"Looking at the past few days' price action, we could see profit booking in the pair before heading higher towards 79.10," he added.

The rupee has hit a series of lifetime lows this month, which started with the currency breaching the 77 per dollar rate in March, a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.