Indian rupee weakens to near-record low on Nov. 28th

The Indian rupee closed near its all-time low on Thursday due to foreign portfolio outflows and rising demand for dollars from importers, despite central bank intervention.

The rupee ended the day at 84.4850 against the US dollar, a slight decline from the previous session’s close of 84.4525. Last week, the currency had hit its all-time low of 84.5075.

Indian equity markets also experienced a downturn, with the benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 indices closing down by approximately 1.5 per cent each. This decline was primarily driven by losses in IT stocks.

Foreign banks were seen bidding for dollars, while state-run banks were consistently offering throughout the session, possibly on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, according to a trader at a foreign bank.

The central bank has been actively intervening in recent sessions to bolster the rupee near the key support level of 84.50.

The dollar index rebounded to 106.3 after a 0.7 per cent decline on Wednesday, marking its largest single-day drop since late August.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama