Rupee settles at record low of 78.32 against dollar on forex outflows
Mumbai, Jun 23: The rupee on Thursday closed at its all-time low of 78.32 against the US dollar as strong American currency and persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened higher at 78.26 and rose to the day's high of 78.22 due to weakness in the US dollar and crude oil in early trade.
However, a rebound in the greenback and Brent crude later hit the rupee sentiment, pushing the local currency to the day's low of 78.38. The rupee finally settled unchanged at 78.32, its record low level against the US dollar.
The dollar had weakened in the early session in Asia after the US Federal Reserve chairman said a recession is possible as the US central bank raises interest rates to cool surging inflation.
The rupee erased early morning gains as safe-haven demand drove the greenback ahead of quarter-end adjustments, said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
Parmar further said that there is a high chance of a near bounce amid a fall in commodities, strength in regional currencies and recovery in risk assets.
"Spot USDINR is expected to be in the narrow range of 78.10 to 78.50 before heading towards 79 odd levels," Parmar said.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.41 per cent to 104.62.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, edged higher 0.3 per cent to USD 112 per barrel after initial losses as investors weighed recession fears.
According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the local unit continued to remain under pressure amid rising concerns of a recession. Asian and emerging market peers were weak except for the Chinese Yuan and Malaysian Ringgit.
"India's bond yields ended higher as traders booked profits. The benchmark 6.54 per cent bond ended at 7.42 per cent, against yesterday's close of 7.40 per cent," Iyer said.
The US Dollar Index was trading higher in Asian trade, while the euro and the Sterling remained under pressure against the greenback as disappointing German and French PMI data confirmed the euro zone economy is struggling to gain traction.
The Yen continued to gain amid safe haven appeal for the currency, Iyer said.
The rupee traded in a range of 78.20-78.40 and ended near 78.30 as the dollar traded neutral along with range-bound capital market, Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.
"Rupee weakness can continue till the time crude stays above USD 95 per barrel, any breach below USD 95 per barrel and lower level sustained on crude shall provide strong support to the rupee," Trivedi said.
Meanwhile, as per minutes of the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting released on Wednesday, all the six members of the MPC, including the RBI Governor, expressed concern over continued high inflation and stressed that the central bank's endeavour would be to bring down the rate of price rise within the target range.
India witnessed a current account deficit of 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2021-22, against a surplus of 0.9 per cent in FY2020-21, due to a wider trade deficit, the Reserve Bank said on Wednesday.
In absolute terms, the deficit for FY22 came at USD 38.7 billion as against a surplus of USD 24 billion in the year-ago period, data released by the RBI showed.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 443.19 points or 0.86 per cent higher at 52,265.72, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 143.35 points or 0.93 per cent to 15,556.65.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,319.06 crore, as per stock exchange data.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
