Rupee marks biggest losing streak

THE Indian rupee has declined in each of the 10 months this year to notch its biggest losing streak in almost four decades as the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance on monetary policy catapulted the dollar to two-decade highs.

The dollar index is up 16 percent this year, having scaled 114.8-levels last month to trade near its 2002 peak. Its ascent has pressured currencies globally, especially ones in emerging Asian markets.

The Indian rupee fell 1.8 percent against the dollar in October, taking its slide for the year to nearly 11 percent.

Surging oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and weakness in the Chinese yuan have only piled on more pressure on the rupee and helped send it to a record low of 83.29 per dollar earlier this month. The rupee's losses have been deeper in the past two months, with market participants reckoning that the RBI let the currency slide after having helped hold it at the 79-80 levels for a long time.

Almost all traders and economists expect there will be more pressure on rupee.