Rupee breaks 3-day rally, down 3 Paise at 63.87 a dollar
Mumbai: Snapping its three-session winning run, the rupee today ended lower by 3 paise at 63.87 against the US currency following fresh bouts of dollar demand from importers amid the US political jitters.
Trading was extremely volatile as the currency market witnessed wide swings against the backdrop of US government shutdown.
The US government shutdown went into effect at midnight on Friday after Senate negotiators failed to reach an agreement on a last minute deal to keep the government funded amid a dispute over immigration and border security.
The domestic currency oscillated between a high of 63.71 and a low of 64 a dollar.
However, the record-breaking rally in local equities along with robust capital inflows somewhat cushioned the impact of the fall.
In the meantime, country's foreign exchange reserves rose for a fifth consecutive week to yet another record high of USD 413.825 billion in the week to January 12, the RBI said.
Foreign funds and overseas investors continued their portfolio-buying spree and infused a whopping Rs 8,700 crore in the Indian capital markets this month so far on expectation of recovery in corporate earnings and attractive yields.
According to the depositories data, FPIs infused in a net amount of Rs 5,769 crore in equities and Rs 2,940 crore in the debt markets.
In the international commodity front, crude prices rebounded after a brief fall, largely helped by a drop in US drilling activity and also impacted by fighting in Syria between Turkish forces and Kurdish fighters.
Brent crude futures were trading higher at USD 68.79 a barrel in early Asian trading.
Meanwhile, domestic markets continued their relentless upward march for the fourth session on frantic buying activity in key front-line stocks induced by acceleration in corporate earnings growth and growing optimism ahead of the Budget 2018.
In contrast, most Asian stock markets were mixed and rather muted overshadowed by US political turmoil.
The flagship BSE-Sensex shot up over 286 points to end at 35,798.01, while Nifty soared 72 points at 10,966.20.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee opened lower at 63.88 as compared to weekend close of 63.84 due to fresh demand for the American currency from importers and banks.
It later drifted sharply to hit day's low of 64.00, breaching the key support level on heavy dollar pressure.
The local currency, however, made a strong comeback in in later afternoon deals to touch a high of 63.71 before pulling back to settle at 63.87, showing a loss of 3 paise, or 0.05 per cent.
The rupee had strengthened by a healthy 20 paise in three-day rally after recovering from a two-week low.
The RBI meanwhile fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 63.8895 and for the euro at 78.1241.
On the global front, the greenback remained broadly lower against other major currencies, though rising Treasury yields seem to be assuring the US currency's appeal.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was down at 90.32 in early trade.
In cross-currency trades, the rupee retreated against the pound sterling to conclude at 88.79 per pound from 88.54 and remained weak against the Japanese yen to finish at 57.70 per 100 yens from 57.68 last Friday.
The home unit, however recovered marginally against the euro to close at 78.25 from 78.27 earlier.
Elsewhere, the Euro rebounded to trade slightly higher against the US dollar supported also by news of German Social Democrats (SPD) voting in favour of coalition talks with Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU.
The common currency booked a fifth straight week of gains in advance of Thursday's ECB meeting.
At the same time, the British pound traded in a tight range ahead of the latest UK jobs and data and the first look at Q4 GDP this week.
In forward market today, premium for dollar decline due to mild receiving from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in June eased to 122-124 paise from 123-125 paise and the far forward December 2018 contract also moved down to 259-261 paise from 261-263 paise previously.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
