Kamal Ghorui
Rupee extended its losing streak on Friday, tumbling 28 paisa in early trade, to hit a fresh record low of 94.24 against the US dollar. This comes after the currency fell sharply in the last session on Wednesday, when it slipped 29 paise to breach the 94 par US dollar mark to hit 94.05 amid the ongoing Middle East tensions. This fall comes as the currency is dragged down by persistent foreign institutional investor outflows, along with Iran crisis that continue to weigh down sentiment.In Wednesday’s trade, rupee began the session at 93.94 against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market and moved between 93.86 and 94.08 before settling at its lowest-ever closing level. This followed Tuesday’s decline, when the currency had already weakened by 23 paise to finish at 93.76. Traders pointed out that supportive cues, including a fall in global crude oil prices, a softer US dollar, and strength in domestic equities, did little to support rupee’s fall.Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said, “we expect the RBI to protect the level of 94 in the current financial year and possibly take it down to 93.30 to 92.80.” The expert further added that the currency is likely to trade in the range of 93.25-94.25.The downward momentum was reflected in Dalal Street as well with Nifty50 opening below 23,100, while BSE Sensex shed over 800 points. Around 9:16 AM, Nifty50 plunged to 23,045.55, down 261 points or 1.12%. BSE Sensex was at 74,438.18, down 835 points or 1%. In the commodities market, global oil prices softened after the US indicated that negotiations with Iran were “going very well” and extended its deadline with Tehran by 10 days. Both key benchmarks declined around 2%. Brent crude, which had earlier climbed to $108 per barrel, eased to $105.75, marking a 2.08% drop. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 1.94% to $92.67 as of 7:50 am IST.
