The on Monday touched an all-time low of 69.62 per dollar in early trade, tracking broader weakness in other emerging market currencies on concerns of a spill-over from a crisis-hit Turkey. The Reserve Bank of India was seen intervening to stem a sharp fall in the rupee, two dealers said. "The RBI was there to curtail the volatility in early trade, but not in a big way," said a senior dealer at a foreign bank. The rupee reversed marginally from its record lows to trade at 69.53 to the dollar. It had ended at 68.84 to the dollar on Friday. The 10-year benchmark bond yield rose to 7.80 percent from its previous close of 7.75 percent, tracking the weakness in rupee. Investors preferred safe havens such as the U.S. dollar and the yen after a plunge in the Turkish lira sent all emerging market currencies sharply lower. The lira has fallen about 45 percent against the greenback this year on worries over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's increasing control of the economy and a deepening diplomatic rift with the United States. "There is no point spending a lot of dollars in defending a rupee when the force of the fall is so strong across emerging markets," said a senior forex dealer at an Indian state-run bank. The next crucial level for the rupee is 69.80 to the dollar, he added. Traders will also watch out for India consumer inflation data for July due after market hours for further direction. A Reuters poll estimates July inflation of 4.51 percent compared with a five-month high of 5.0 percent hit in the previous month.<doc-sep>Caught in a fresh wave of global currency turbulence, the rupee fell sharply by 15 paise to end at 68.83 against the resurgent dollar amid fears of escalation in trade tensions worldwide. The Indian currency hit a fresh 3-week low in early trade before regaining some lost ground. Forex market sentiment wobbled once again in line with sell-off in other emerging market currencies hit by the sudden wave of risk-off on mounting fears over a political crisis in Turkey. The Turkish lira plunged nearly 14% after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked citizens to convert their dollars and other foreign currencies as well as gold holdings to local lira. US President Donald Trump also announced doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, adding to pressure on that country’s troubled economy amid a diplomatic row. The Reserve Bank of India is suspected to have intervened heavily to curb the rupee’s sharp slide on a day when overseas investors sold local securities leading to fund outflows. Domestic equity markets witnessed profit-taking after a string of record-setting sessions as Turkish currency rout reverberated through global markets. Extremely strong US dollar, which continued to enjoy trade wars and a hawkish central bank, predominantly put pressure on the rupee. Heavy dollar buying interest from importers and banks also weighed on the trading front. On the energy front, crude prices dropped on growing concerns that global trade disputes will slow economic growth and demand for fuel, but losses were limited by US sanctions against Iran which look set to tighten supply. The benchmark Brent for September settlement was trading weak at USD 72.60 a barrel in early Asian session. Earlier, the rupee opened with a steep fall at 68.82 against Thursday’s close of 68.68 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market in the midst of global developments. The follow-through weakness eventually pulled down the home currency to a fresh 3-week low of 69.03 in early deals on the back of stepped up dollar purchases. However, suspected currency market intervention by the Reserve Bank of India through state-run banks largely helped the local unit to cut short early steep losses. It finally closed at 68.83, depreciating by 15 paise, or 0.22%. The Financial Benchmarks India private limited (FBIL), meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 68.9538 and for the euro at 78.9985. Against a basket of other currencies, the dollar index spot was trading higher by 0.69% at 96.16. In the cross currency trade, the rupee however pulled back against the pound sterling to end at 87.86 per pound from 88.53 and the euro also bounced back against the euro to close at 78.83 as compared to 79.61 earlier. But, the Japanese yen drifted further to settled at 62.03 per 100 yens from 61.81 on Thursday. Elsewhere, the pound sterling fell sharply against the US dollar to the lowest since June 2017 on a stronger greenback and growing concerns over Brexit deal with the EU. The euro collapsed to a fresh 13-month low against dollar on concerns about the exposure of some European banks to Turkey’s currency crisis. The Russian ruble fell to more than two-year lows on concern over fresh US sanctions. In forward market on Friday, premium for dollar slumped due to heavy receiving from exporters. The benchmark six-month forward premium payable in December declined to 112.50-114.50 paise from 114-116 paise and the far-forward June 2019 contract moved down to 260-262 paise from 262-264 paise previously.<doc-sep>Mumbai: The rupee on Monday crashed by a mammoth 110 paise - its biggest single-day fall in five years - to end at a lifetime low of 69.93 as the US dollar gained rapid strength amid fears that economic crisis in Turkey could spread to other global economies. Panic and capitulation overshadowed trading mood as traders and speculators saw no signs that monetary authorities would step into the foreign exchange market to support the domestic unit. This is the biggest single day fall for the rupee in the past five years. Previously, the rupee had dropped 2.4 per cent or 148 paise in a single day in August 2013. The rupee also ended lower against British pound, euro and Japanse yen. The rupee was mainly impacted by fall in Turkish Lira, said a treasurer of a state-owned bank. The Turkish lira dived almost 8 per cent today to a low of 7.24 against the US dollar, fuelling fears that it may impact financial institutions in Europe. Later, it recovered some ground after the finance ministry assured steps to rein in the crisis. Global currencies except for safe-haven Japanese yen and Swiss franc faced a rout against the dollar. The pound sterling was trading near 2018 lows, the euro declined to a 13-month low, the Russian ruble lost 2 per cent, while South African rand plunged 7 per cent in a global meltdown. The dollar index was trading higher at 96.18. Lack of FII inflows and growing oil prices are also affecting the rupee, a PSU bank official said. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 971.8 crore on a net basis, provisional exchange data showed. RBI will not be comfortable at these levels. It was seen defending rupee at all levels, said a senior treasury official of a public sector bank, while predicting that the rupee may fall to 70 levels against the dollar soon. The rupee had opened strong by 41 paise at 68.42 against the US dollar in early trade today, helped by revived sentiments following optimistic macroeconomic outlook. However, it soon reversed the gains and plunged to an early low of 69.62 in line with weakening domestic equities. It remained under intense pressure later in the day and eventually took a deep slide to end at a lifetime low of 69.93, revealing a steep loss of 110 paise, or 1.60 per cent. The Financial Benchmarks India (FBIL), meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 69.4685 and for the euro at 79.1876. The 10-year benchmark bond yield settled unchanged at 7.75 per cent. On the energy front, crude prices slipped as trade tensions and troubled emerging markets dented the outlook for fuel demand, though U.S. sanctions against Iran pointed towards tighter supply ahead. The benchmark Brent for September settlement is trading weak at USD 72.68 a barrel in the early Asian session. India's foreign exchange reserves fell to over seven-month low of USD 402.7 billion in the week ended August 3. Total forex reserves dipped USD 1.49 billion from USD 404.19 billion in the week ended July 27, 2018, RBI data showed. In the cross-currency trade, the rupee retreated sharply against the pound sterling to end at 89.13 per pound from 87.86 and fell back against the euro to finish at 79.52 as compared to 78.83 earlier. It remained weak against the Japanese yen to end at 63.37 per 100 yens from 62.03. The Japanese Yen is benefitting from the safe haven status at times of risk-off sentiment with Turkeys currency crisis continuing since the last week. In the forward market today, the premium for dollar edged down owing to consistent receiving from exporters. The benchmark six-month forward premium payable in December softened to 112-114 paise from 112.50-114.50 paise, while the far-forward June 2019 contract held steady at 260-262 paise.<doc-sep>New Delhi: The rupee on Tuesday erased all morning gains and crossed past the psychological 70 mark against the US dollar for the first time as the contagion from the economic crisis in Turkey remained relatively contained in developed markets overnight. At 10.34am, the rupee was trading at 70.08 a dollar, down 0.21%, from its previous close of 68.93. The home currency opened at 69.84 and touched a high of 69.75 and a low of 70.08 a dollar. A falling rupee is bad news for everyone. Here’s why. PRICE PINCH A falling rupee makes imported goods costlier, especially oil, since India imports around 80% of its crude oil requirements. Retail prices of petrol and diesel increase, consumer goods using imported raw materials become costlier, vegetables will become dearer, which could push up inflation. TRAVEL WOES If you are planning an overseas holiday, wait for the rupee to stabilise a little more. At the current exchange rate, you will end up spending more to buy foreign exchange, which would tighten your travel purse strings substantially. TAKING STOCK A falling rupee is generally bad news for the market. Export-oriented stocks such as IT and pharma gain as their earnings go up in dollar terms, while oil marketing companies and consumer goods firms, heavily dependent on imports, find themselves at the receiving end. Bears overpower bulls, and markets take a hit. PROBLEMS FOR RBI The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been struggling to contain inflation. In its last policy review, the central bank hiked its repo rate, or key lending rate, by 25 basis points. If inflation remains on the higher side, it could compel the RBI to keep policy rates high for a longer time. BUT THERE’S A SILVER LINING Exporters earn more in dollars, which pushes up their revenues. Information technology companies, with a high proportion of overseas clients, are generally among the biggest beneficiaries. IT stocks gained on Monday, with the NSE IT index up 0.70% in afternoon trade. Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were among the top gainers. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.<doc-sep>
New Delhi: The Indian rupee (INR) today nosedived to a record low against US dollar (USD) amid, tracking losses in emerging-market currencies on continued turmoil in Turkey. The rupee closed at a record low of 69.93 against US dollar, tumbling 109 paise. On Friday, the rupee had closed at 68.84 against the US dollar. Investors rushed to safe-havens such as the US dollar and the yen after a plunge in the Turkish Lira sent all emerging market currencies sharply lower. The Sensex also fell sharply today, ending 224 points lower. Here are 10 things to know about rupee’s plunge today: 1) The Turkish lira has fallen about 45% against the greenback this year on worries over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s increasing control of the economy and a deepening diplomatic rift with the US. 2) In a note forex advisory firm IFA Global said, “The psychological 70 mark is now in sight." 3) In the wake of weakness across the board, “the RBI may be less keen to intervene. It may do so just to curb volatility and desist speculators," IFA Global added. 4) The decline in the lira “may fuel volatility in emerging-market assets and dampen investor sentiment in the near term, as markets are already skittish," said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. 5) The JPMorgan analyst however said that the “drivers of the lira’s decline are very specific to Turkey. Therefore it should not derail the positive fundamentals in other emerging markets over a longer-term." 6) Another key data point to be watched today is retail consumer inflation data for July due after market hours. A Reuters poll estimates July inflation of 4.51% compared with a 5-month high of 5% hit in the previous month. 7) The Sensex plunged today by over 300 points at day’s low, tracking a selloff in other equity markets, before settling 224 points lower. 8) IT stocks however gained today, with NSE IT index up over 1.3%. Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were among the top gainers. A weak rupee boosts the rupee earnings of IT companies. 9) Turkey’s central bank today said it was ready to take “all necessary measures" to ensure financial stability after the collapse of the lira. The statement came after the Turkish lira hit record lows against the dollar amid a widening diplomatic spat with the United States. 10) The detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson since October 2016 on terrorism charges has sparked the most severe crisis in ties between the two NATO allies in years. The Turkish central bank has defied pressure to hike interest rates which economists said would curb the fall of the lira. Turkish President on Saturday called interest rates as “tool of exploitation" that makes the poor poorer and the rich richer. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.