Rupee crashes 13 paise to settle at record low of 84.60 against US dollar

The rupee plunged 13 paise to settle at a fresh alltime low of 8460 against the United States US dollar on Friday dragged down by unabated foreign fund outflows even as weak domestic macroeconomic data jolted the overall sentimentForex traders said that the demand for dollar from importers for meeting monthend payment obligations weighed on the rupee even as the gross domestic product GDP data released by the government later in the day adversely impacted the currency market toppling the local unit to its record low news agency PTI reportedThe Indian rupee declined by 13 paise to close at a record low of 8460 against the US dollar on Friday pressured by continuous foreign fund outflows and weak domestic macroeconomic indicators Forex traders attributed the fall to high dollar demand from importers meeting monthend payment obligations Additionally the GDP data released later in the day further dampened market sentiment driving the rupee to its lowest level on recordData from the government revealed that Indiarsquos economic growth slowed to a near twoyear low of 54 per cent during the JulySeptember quarter of the current fiscal year PTI reported This was largely owing to underperformance in the manufacturing and mining sectors alongside weak consumption demand By comparison the GDP growth stood at 81 per cent in the same quarter of 202324 and 67 per cent in the first quarter of 202425 The last instance of such low growth at 43 per cent was recorded in the OctoberDecember quarter of 202223 PTI reportedThe government also reported that the fiscal deficit for the first seven months of this financial year reached 465 per cent of the fullyear target slightly higher than the 45 per cent recorded during the corresponding period last yearIn another key economic indicator the growth in output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped to 31 per cent in October 2024 a sharp decline from the 127 per cent growth registered in the same month last year However on a monthly basis output growth improved slightly from the 24 per cent recorded in September 2024 reported PTIBSE Sensex closes at 7980279 NSE Nifty advances 21695 pointsAt the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 8449 briefly strengthened to 8448 before sliding to 8460 during intraday trading where it eventually closed This marked a significant fall of 13 paise from its previous close The rupeersquos previous alltime low closing of 8450 occurred on 21 November On Thursday it had declined by 7 paise to close at 8447 against the US dollarAnuj Choudhary Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan commented that the rupee is likely to maintain a negative bias due to the strong dollar and ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine ldquoAny surge in crude oil prices amid the geopolitical tensions and monthend dollar demand from importers may also weigh on the rupeerdquo he noted ldquoHowever a positive tone in the domestic markets and any intervention by the Reserve Bank of India RBI may support the rupee at lower levels USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 8435 to 8470rdquo he addedMeanwhile the dollar index which measures the strength of the US currency against a basket of six currencies was down 015 per cent trading at 10588 Brent crude futures also declined by 030 per cent to 7306 per barrelIn the domestic equity market the 30share BSE Sensex rose sharply by 75905 points or 096 per cent to close at 7980279 while the NSE Nifty advanced 21695 points or 091 per cent to end at 2413110 Despite the upbeat equity market performance Foreign Institutional Investors FIIs were net sellers offloading 438355 crore in the capital markets according to exchange dataIndiarsquos foreign exchange reserves fell by 131 billion to 656582 billion for the week ending 22 November according to the Reserve Bank of India RBI This followed a record drop of 17761 billion in the preceding week which brought reserves down to 657892 billionWith PTI inputs