Indian rupee plunges to all-time low of 71 against dollar

The Indian rupee continued its bearish trend on Friday (31) touching its all-time low of 71 against dollar recording a steep decline of 26 paise.

The current downward trend in the local currency is due to persistent demand for dollar amid a hike in crude oil prices in the global market, analysts opine.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee opened on a negative note at 70.95 against the dollar and moved down further to hit its lifetime low of 71 from its previous record fall of 70.74.

The month-end demand for US currency from oil importers and a firm trend in the dollar against a basket of its rival currencies pulled down the local currency amid rising China-US trade war tensions.

The Indian rupee fell further by 15 paise to close at a record low of 70.74 on Thursday (30) against the dollar following higher demand from crude oil importers amid jumping crude oil prices. An outflow of foreign funds from the domestic stock market also put further pressure on the local currency.

Indian shares moved down on Friday (31) tracking negative global sentiment after a news which stated US President Donald Trump was aiming to put more tariffs on China, which created a fear among the investors who later favoured firm dollar and gold as a safe haven for their investment.

Benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex was seen trading down by 0.13 per cent or 50.28 points at 38639.82 points as of 15.06 IST on Friday (31).

Asian stocks were also seen trading a bit negative following renewed pressure on US President’s trade war menace, which pulled down Chinese stocks lower and partly erased advances made in the global rally earlier this week.

Tracking a negative trend in the stock market and local currency, gold prices on India’s futures market moved higher by Rs 155 or 0.51 per cent to Rs 30325 per 10 grams on Friday (31) as speculators were seen widening their positions gathering positive global cues.

The most active gold contract for October delivery on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was seen trading up by 0.48 per cent or Rs 145 at Rs 30315 per 10 grams as of 14.59 IST on Friday (31).