Rupee falls as Asian stocks tumble
Rupee falls as Asian stocks tumble
Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Thursday traded sharply lower by 41 paise against the US dollar as foreign banks and oil companies stepped up dollar purchases amid growing concerns about capital outflows after a turmoil in global financial markets.
At 10: 30 am, the domestic currency opened sharply lower at ₹ 6.75/76 against the greenback, cheaper by 41 paise from its previous close of 46.34/35 a dollar, before being quoted at ₹ 46.74/75.
Forex dealers said foreign banks and oil refiners heavily bought dollars amid low crude oil prices, which traded around $95 a barrel in Asian trade.
They said the rupee sentiment was adversely affected due to growing fears of unceasing portfolio outflows from equity after a global stocks turmoil.
The BSE Sensex fell nearly 700 points in early trade.
Asian markets tumbled today tracking declines on the Wall Street as investors feared more companies could succumb to the global financial meltdown that forced the US Federal Reserve to bailout troubled insurer American Insurance Group.
Yesterday, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had said that the government is not interfering with the rupee movement but will have to “step in" if it finds “artificial" volatility in the exchange rate.
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