Mumbai, Jan 23 (PTI) The rupee slumped 41 paise to hit a record low of 91.99 against the US dollar in intraday trade on Friday, as persistent foreign fund outflows and a volatile geopolitical situation kept investors cautious.
Forex traders said the intervention from the Reserve Bank of India is helping smooth volatility to some extent, but is not reversing the overall negative trend for the domestic unit.
Moreover, for the currency, the pending trade agreement with the US remains a key stabilising factor. Until the geopolitical risk eases and the trade deal materialises, the rupee is likely to remain vulnerable to external shocks, they said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.45 against the US dollar. In the initial trade, it touched an early high of 91.41 but soon pared the gains, hitting a record low of 91.99, registering a 41-paise fall from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and ended with a gain of 7 paise at 91.58 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent higher at 98.38.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.09 per cent higher at USD 64.76 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 797.94 points to 81,509.43, while the Nifty declined 240.55 points to 25,049.35.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,549.80 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. PTI DRR DRR BAL BAL
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