Rupee falls 12 paise to hit all-time low of 83.38 against US dollar
Mumbai, Nov 20: The rupee declined by 12 paise to settle at its all-time low of 83.38 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities.
Foreign fund outflows also weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.25 and settled at its lifetime low level of 83.38 against the dollar, registering a fall of 12 paise from its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.26 against the American currency. Earlier, the rupee closed at its lowest level of 83.33 against the dollar on November 13, this year.
"The Indian rupee ended weaker on Monday as sustained dollar demand from state-run and foreign banks maintained pressure on the local unit. The rupee finally settled at 83.3400 against the US dollar versus its close at 83.2700 on Thursday.
"The currency had previously closed at this level on November 10, the same day it fell to a record low of 83.42. The rupee ended weak despite a rally in its Asian peers," Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.42 per cent lower at 103.48.
"Most Asian currencies strengthened, with the offshore Chinese yuan up over 0.6 per cent and leading the gains as the dollar weakened further this Monday's session. Additionally, the rupee has also struggled as dollar demand has persisted amid a lack of inflows," Iyer said.
In the overseas markets, the US Dollar Index was trading marginally weaker against the basket of currencies this Monday afternoon in Asian trading as traders awaited FOMC minutes this week, which could indicate when the Fed could start cutting rates.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.66 per cent to USD 81.14 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 139.58 points or 0.21 per cent to settle at 65,655.15 points. The Nifty declined 37.80 points or 0.19 per cent to 19,694.00 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 645.72 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex kitty decreased by USD 462 million to USD 590.321 billion for the week ended November 10, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
In the previous week, the overall reserves had increased by USD 4.672 billion to USD 590.783 billion.
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Official dies in fire at Income Tax CR Building in Delhi, 7 rescued
New Delhi, May 14: A 46-year-old man working as office superintendent died after a massive fire broke out inside the Income Tax CR Building here on Tuesday, police said.
According to the police, they received a PCR call in the afternoon regarding fire on the third floor in the CR Building in ITO area.
"The Fire Department and police personnel rushed to the site. The fire was brought under control and total seven people were rescued from there. A 46-year-old man was found unconscious and later he was declared dead at hospital. He was working as an office superintendent," a senior police officer said, adding that forensic teams were at the spot.
The Delhi Fire Services said that seven people -- five men and two women -- were rescued and one person, who received minor injuries, was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The fire broke out in the building located opposite the old Police Headquarters, which is still occupied by the force for some of its units.
"We received a call at 3.07 pm, regarding a fire in the Income Tax CR building. We have rushed a total of 21 fire tenders. We have also informed the local police about the matter for further investigation and to maintain law and order," officials of the DFS said.
According to some videos which turned up on social media, the occupants of the building took shelter on a window ledge while escaping the fire. The firefighters helped them get down through ladders.
"I got an information at 4 pm that total seven people -- five men and two women -- were rescued safely by DFS from the third floor of the building. The process of dousing flames completely is still going on," DFS chief Atul Garg said.
"As the firefighters reached the spot, they evacuated the building. We had to use gas mask due to toxic fumes, but all those who were in the building were rescued safely. We have informed the local police of the area for further investigation into the matter to know the actual cause of the fire," Garg said.
