Rupee plummets to 84.09 against dollar, ties previous all-time low

The rupee on Friday fell 11 paise, revisiting its all-time low of 84.09 (provisional) against the US dollar, tracking a weak domestic equity market and continued FII outflows.

The situation in the Middle East continues to be volatile and might keep oil prices high and the rupee weak in the short term, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.97 against the dollar, 1 paisa higher than previous day’s close. It rose to the day’s high of 83.96 but tumbled to 84.10 before revisiting its all-time low of 84.09 (provisional), 11 paise lower than its previous close.

The domestic unit had closed at 83.98 on Thursday.

“After keeping it in a range below 83.99 since August 8, 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) finally allowed rupee to weaken past 84 as FPIs who have emerged as big sellers in equities continued to buy USD to take their money out of the country,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

“We can now expect the rupee to move to 84.25 in the short term. Importers will continue buying at all dips and exporters may now hold their exports with a stop below 83.95. The Iran/Israel/Lebanon news also does not seem good and could keep oil strong and the rupee weak,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.09 per cent to 102.89 points.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down 0.57 per cent to USD 78.95 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 230.05 points to close at 81,381.36, while Nifty declined 34.20 points to settle at 24,964.25.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,926.61 crore, according to exchange data.