Rupee plunges 12 paise to close at new all-time low of 85.27 against US dollar

The rupee stayed weak for the third straight session and fell 12 paise to settle at a fresh all-time low of 85.27 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, amid a strong greenback and rising crude oil prices.

Forex traders said, increased month-end as well as year-end dollar demand from importers and fear of an aggressive import tariff by the Donald Trump administration lifted the American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 85.23 and touched the lowest-ever level of 85.28 against the greenback during intraday trade.

The unit finally ended the session at its lifetime low closing level of 85.27 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a loss of 12 paise from its previous close.

The rupee fell 4 paise to settle at 85.15 against the US dollar on Tuesday, a day after losing 9 paise on Monday.

The forex market was closed on Wednesday for Christmas.

According to Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, the rupee fell to a fresh all-time low on strong dollar and rising US treasury yields that are at the highest levels in seven months.

Also, he said the surge in crude oil prices, month-end/year-end dollar demand and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee.

"However, any intervention by the RBI may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85.10 to 85.45," Choudhary added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally lower by 0.09 per cent but remained elevated at 107.93, amid soaring US Treasury yields (4.61 per cent) and the fear of delayed interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.56 per cent to USD 73.99 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed almost flat at 78,472.48 points, while Nifty inched up 22.55 points, or 0.10 per cent to close at 23,750.20 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,454.21 crore, according to exchange data.