Indian rupee ends at record closing low

17 Oct, 2023

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee ended at its lifetime closing low on Monday as a jump in crude oil prices and weakness in other Asian currencies pressured the local unit. The rupee closed at 83.2775 against the US dollar, little changed from its previous close of 83.2625. The currency hit its previous record closing low of 83.2675 on Sept. 18.

The dollar index held steady at 106.5 and Asian currencies weakened, with the Korean won leading losses after a 0.27% fall.

The rupee is “slowly weakening but remains sticky as usual,” a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said.

The stickiness is largely attributable to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) whose likely interventions have limited the weakness.

The RBI likely intervened during the earlier part of the spot trading session and also supplied US dollars during the mid-day fixing window, traders said. Near the end of the session when the rupee fell to 83.28, its weakest level during the day, state-run banks were seen selling US dollars again, likely on behalf of RBI, four traders said.

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