Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Thursday slid by 45 paise, its worst singe-session drop in nearly seven weeks, to end at 61.86 against the greenback on month-end dollar demand from importers and banks amid speculation that US Fed is considering raising interest rates later this year.
Dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, mainly affected the rupee value against the dollar, dealers said. However, persistent foreign capital inflows into equity market restricted the rupee's fall, they added. Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty today hit new highs.
The rupee resumed lower at 61.44 as against Wednesday's closing level of 61.41 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex). It moved down further to 61.88 before concluding at 61.86, showing a loss of 45 paise or 0.73 per cent. This is its worst daily show since 59-paise drop on December 16, 2014.
"Rupee fell against the dollar on month-end dollar demand by oil marketing companies. Today's fall came as the dollar strengthened against other global currencies as the Fed said the world's largest economy was poised for continued expansion," said Admisi Forex, Director, Suresh Nair.
The dollar index was up by 0.17 per cent against a basket of major global rivals after as the US Fed maintained its pledge to be "patient" on the pace of future rate gains at a meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
The yen pared declines as a slump in Japanese share prices spurred demand for haven assets. Australia's and New Zealand's currencies weakened amid speculation their central banks may be moving toward cutting interest rates.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 122.59 points, or 0.41 per cent, to all-time closing high of 29,681.77.
Veracity Group CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said: "Rupee traded weak taking cues from strong dollar as it continues to trade near multi-year high. Also, month end dollar demand from oil importers and corporates forced rupee to depreciate."
The rupee is heading towards to its first weekly loss in five weeks, he said, adding that the trading range for the spot USD/INR pair is expected to be in 61.40-62.40 range. Meanwhile, the forward premia eased further on persistent receipts by exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in June ended lower at 188-189 paise from 190.5-192.5 paise yesterday while forward contracts maturing in December ruled barely steady at also eased to 398-399 paise.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 61.4998 and for Euro at 69.3287. The rupee dropped further against the pound to 93.56 per pound from 93.40 previously and also fell against the euro to 69.99 per euro from 69.72. The rupee also moved down further to 52.48 per 100 yen from 52.14 previously.
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