Rupee hits a new low, may breach 79/$ mark – Times of India

MUMBAI: The rupee fell to a new low of 78.84 against the dollar in intraday trade on Tuesday largely on account of pressures from foreign investors in the equity market and rising crude oil prices. With the currency trading at 79 in the offshore non-deliverable market, there are fears that the rupee will come under further pressure.
The rupee opened weaker after trading flat on Monday when fears of a recession stemmed oil prices and the dollar’s rally. On Tuesday, the rupee opened weak at 78.53 and soon fell to 78.6. In the afternoon, the domestic unit weakened further to a new low of 78.84 before ending the day at 78.79 – a new closing low. Dealers said that the RBI intervened through public sector banks to meet the demand for dollars.
K N Dey of United Financial Consultants said there was huge dollar demand on account of F&O (futures & options) settlement. “There was an estimated settlement of $5-6 billion. The RBI intervened and kept the rupee from breaking 79. The rupee gas been constantly wearing from February 24 (when Russia invaded Ukraine).”
Hariprasad M P of Ebixcash World Money said, “The rupee is likely to breach the 79 mark and inch towards further depreciation in the near term. The dollar/rupee pair has depreciated by approximately 5% this quarter and about 9% in this calendar year. The demand for overseas business and student travel will not be impacted due to the sharp fall in rupee as these are time-bound scheduled trips.”
Adding pressure to the exchange rate was an uptick in crude oil prices.