It is a free fall for the rupee as today it weakened by another 23 paise against the dollar to trade at a lifetime low of 70.82 on strong month-end demand for the US currency amid sustained foreign fund outflows. This seems ironic because India has completed its 71 years of independence and rupee is inching towards that mark.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency opened a tad higher at 70.57 a dollar from its previous close of 70.59 but slipped to hit a fresh low of 70.82, down by 23 paise.
Forex dealers said besides strong month-end demand for the American currency, buying by importers, mainly oil refiners in view of surging crude oil prices and capital outflows, weighed on the domestic currency. Significantly, the dollar strengthened against its rival currencies overseas too put pressure on the rupee, they said.
The rupee had recorded a steep fall of 49 paise, to close at record low of 70.59 against the dollar in the previous session. The free fall of rupee is going to have it’s after effects on imports and exports and on the sensitive index or Sensex which is rated as a barometer of the economy.
