Indian rupee slips below $70 after three months

mumbai — The rupee vaulted 77 paise to a three-month high of 69.85 per US dollar (19.13 versus the UAE dirham) on Thursday, propelled by easing crude oil prices and fresh foreign capital inflows.

In a major relief to energy importers like India, oil prices slipped below the $60 a dollar mark as investors fretted over a supply glut.

Forex dealers said a bullish trend in the equity market and a weak greenback further propped up the local unit, which racked up gains for the third straight day.

The dollar weakened against some currencies overseas after US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said that the central bank’s benchmark interest rate is likely near a “neutral level”.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a firm footing at 70.15 against the US dollar. It then breached the crucial 70-per-dollar mark and rallied to the day’s high of 69.78 following dollar-selling by exporters.

The local unit finally finished at 69.85, showing a gain of 77 paise over its previous close.

The last time the rupee closed below 70 was on August 24, when it had finished at 69.91.

“The rupee remains firm on account of a sharp decline in the crude oil prices in the international market. This is positive for India as decline in crude oil prices may

The last time India’s rupee was in the $70 level was on August 24 this year. —

push inflation and current account deficit lower,” said Rushabh Maru, research analyst at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.

He added that there is lot of uncertainty in the global financial markets and domestic equities are quite volatile too, hence we may see importers rushing to cover their exposure for 2-3 months.

“Near-term range for the rupee is 69.50 to 71.00 levels,” he said.

Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer at Sanctum Wealth Management, said: “The rupee appreciated on account of renewed interest by FIIs in India. After a steep 15 per cent fall in the rupee earlier this year, the rupee has bounced back 6 per cent. After pulling out $5 billion cumulatively in September and October, FIIs have bought Indian equities worth $558 million in November.” —