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The Indian rupee hit an all-time low on Tuesday weighed down by a broadly stronger dollar and a slump in the offshore Chinese yuan to a one-year low, while persistently strong dollar bids in the non-deliverable forwards market also exerted pressure.
The rupee touched a low of 84.7575 before closing slightly nearly flat on the day at 84.6850.
The rupee recovered slightly from its record low as dollar demand ebbed towards the close of the session and the yuan also trimmed losses, a trader at a state-run bank said.
Earlier in the session the rupee managed to avoid deeper losses largely on the back of the Reserve Bank of India’s intervention in the spot and onshore forwards market.
The RBI sold dollars in spot, via state-run banks, and conducted buy/sell swaps in mid-tenor forwards to support the rupee on Tuesday, traders said.
Dollar-rupee forward premiums slumped on the back of the central bank’s swaps with the 1-year implied yield dropping below 2% for the first time since August.
Concerns about India’s slowing economic growth rate, foreign portfolio outflows and weakness in regional peers like the Chinese yuan have maintained pressure on the rupee, with the currency hitting record low levels for two consecutive sessions.
India’s September quarter GDP growth fell to a multi-quarter low, which likely means that the RBI could lower policy rates sooner than expected while foreign equity outflows are likely to persist, undermining the rupee.
“After many years of stability (and enjoying carry trade inflows) it looks like the Reserve Bank of India has set the rupee free,” analysts at ING Bank said in a note.
The rupee’s near-tenor volatility expectations have risen with the 1-month implied volatility touching a near six-month peak of 3% on Tuesday.
The dollar index was last quoted slightly lower at 106.2 after rising 0.5% on Monday, while Asian currencies were trading mixed.
(Edited by : Poonam Behura)
