Rupee Slides To New Lifetime Low of 77.93 Against Dollar

The rupee tumbled 19 paise to close at a fresh lifetime low of 77.93 against the US dollar on Friday as rising crude oil prices and unabated foreign capital outflows soured sentiment.

A sell-off in equity markets and stronger greenback overseas also weighed on the domestic unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 77.81 and witnessed an intra-day high of 77.79 and a low of 77.93 against the US dollar.

The local unit finally settled at its all-time low of 77.93, down 19 paise over its previous close of 77.74.

"The Indian rupee dropped to a record low amid risk-averse sentiment, weaker macro data and a stronger dollar index. The rupee marked the new record low of 77.8725 as the central bank remains aside from intervening while importers rush for dollars," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

Mr Parmar further noted that the global central banks' overriding need to fight inflation with higher interest rates remains a headwind for risk assets and favours the dollar bulls.

"On the domestic front, spot USD-INR is expected to consolidate in the range of 77.50 to 78.30 with a bullish bias," he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.20 per cent to 103.43.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.51 per cent to $123.70 per barrel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)