Rupee falls 48 paise to hit all-time low of 83.61 against US dollar
Mumbai, Mar 22: The rupee depreciated 48 paise to settle at an all-time low of 83.61 against the American currency on Friday, tracking a surging greenback against major crosses in the overseas markets and weak Asian peers.
Foreign fund outflows also dented market sentiment, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 83.28 against the greenback, and finally settled at a record low of 83.61, registering a fall of 48 paise from the previous close of 83.13.
In intraday trade, the rupee touched a low of 83.65 against the American currency.
The rupee had earlier recorded its lowest closing level of 83.40 on December 13, 2023.
"The Indian Rupee tumbled against the greenback and settled at its weakest on Friday, tracking weak Asian peers and a surge in the Dollar Index. Aggressive local dollar demand towards the end of the session weighed on the domestic currency despite RBI's intervention earlier in the day.
"...the US dollar Index surged higher against the basket of currencies this Friday afternoon session in Asia and was set to advance for the second straight week, underpinned by bets that other major central banks could start cutting interest rates earlier than the Federal Reserve," Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said.
According to Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, the US dollar strengthened on weak euro and pound.
Euro declined as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised the markets by cutting interest rates by 25 bps to 1.5 per cent, which raised the odds of a rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) in June 2024.
The pound also fell after the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent. Two hawkish committee members, who voted for a rate hike in the previous meeting, also voted for a no rate hike. Robust economic data from the US also favoured the US dollar, Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.31 per cent higher at 104.32 on Friday.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.05 per cent to USD 85.74 per barrel.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on the strong US dollar and expectations of a bounce back in crude oil prices. However, a positive tone in the domestic markets may support the rupee at lower levels. Any selling of dollars by the RBI may also support the rupee," Choudhary added.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 190.75 points or 0.26 per cent higher at 72,831.94. The broader NSE Nifty rose 84.80 points or 0.39 per cent to 22,096.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,309.76 crore, according to exchange data.
"This decline was primarily influenced by the performance of the Chinese Yuan, particularly its offshore counterpart...his has spread negativity across Asian peers. However, reluctance among Chinese-funded institutions in the offshore market to provide Yuan liquidity for forward transactions helped to stabilize the market," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
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EC dismisses scope for wrongdoing at strongrooms; prohibitory orders around Kolkata counting centres
Kolkata (PTI): A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent hours at the EVM strongroom of her Bhabanipur constituency alleging possibilities of malpractices, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Friday asserted there is no scope for wrongdoing at the counting centres.
Following tensions around two counting centres in Kolkata late on Thursday, police clamped prohibitory orders on gatherings outside all seven strongrooms in the city.
Stating that round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of strongrooms was in place, Agarwal dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
TMC spokesperson and Beleghata constituency candidate Kunal Ghosh said that party workers and poll aspirants were keeping a strict vigil at the counting centres, where the EVMs are stored in strongrooms, upon directions of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
"There is no scope for any wrongdoing given the arrangements made to secure the EVMs. The Centres have been kept under thorough CCTV coverage and their live-streamed footage can be seen from outside," Agarwal told reporters.
"One should have reason and evidence for making allegations," he said, maintaining that there were no grounds for levelling charges of EVM tampering or pre-counting malpractice.
Two counting centres in Kolkata witnessed high drama late on Thursday evening after TMC leaders alleged a lack of transparency and possible malpractice at the strongrooms housing sealed EVMs of the assembly polls, which concluded on April 29.
Mamata Banerjee herself landed up at the Sakhawat Memorial School counting centre and stayed put there for about four hours. She emerged from the premises past midnight and warned against any attempts to tamper with the counting process, demanding greater transparency.
TMC leaders and candidates Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh held a sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra counting centre on Thursday evening, alleging unauthorised activities inside the strongroom amid the absence of TMC agents.
Matters came to a head after a large number of supporters from both TMC and BJP camps gathered outside the venue, shouting slogans till they were dispersed by security forces.
The EC, however, dismissed the claim, clarifying that poll officials were engaged in the task of segregating postal ballots as per due process and the strongrooms remained secure, asserting all political parties for the mandatory segregation activity were duly notified.
On Friday, Kolkata Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS around all seven designated strong rooms in the city.
As per the order issued by Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, the restrictions prohibited the assembly of five or more persons within a 200-metre radius of each strongroom, along with a ban on processions, demonstrations, and carrying of weapons or explosive materials.
The measure, which aims to prevent any breach of peace, violence, or disturbance during the storage of ballot papers and polled EVMs, will remain in force until the commencement of counting on May 4.
Besides the two counting centres in question, the prohibitory orders were also clamped around the Hastings House complex, APC Polytechnic College, St. Thomas Boys' High School, Ballygunge Government High School and the David Hare Training College counting premises.
A senior police officer said enhanced security arrangements have been made at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting centre for several assembly seats in north and east Kolkata housing EVM strong rooms.
"Additional CAPFs and armed police forces have also been deployed under the supervision of an additional commissioner and a deputy commissioner of police," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Kolkata, Rupesh Kumar, told reporters after visiting the area.
Expressing apprehension that unauthorised movements might occur when a section of postal ballots is brought in the evening, Kunal Ghosh said on Friday morning that the party's polling agents and candidates have been alerted about the matter.
Minister Shashi Panja, who also arrived at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in the morning, maintained that "transparency" should be ensured for all strongroom activities.
Ghosh told reporters on Friday that though they had seen some movement in a strongroom that allegedly stored postal ballots, there was no such movement on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Banerjee's challenger at Bhabanipur and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took a dig at the chief minister for her late-night visit to the counting centre.
"I want to reassure the people of Bhabanipur and of West Bengal that the TMC candidate and outgoing chief minister was prevented from taking any additional advantage. Despite her best intentions to the contrary, she wasn't allowed to act in violation of rules," Adhikari wrote on social media platforms, posting a picture of Banerjee sitting at what appeared to be an area outside the counting centre strong room.
"Till such time she was present there, my election agent, advocate Surjyanil Das personally positioned himself at the spot keeping a tight watch on her so that she isn't able to take recourse to improper means," he added.
Security forces kept a strict vigil in and around counting centres and strongrooms in Kolkata and other districts where EVM machines used in the state assembly elections are stored, an official said.
Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur, which saw high drama till the early hours of Friday with the chief minister spending several hours at the counting centre, wore a peaceful look in the morning with security personnel guarding the area.
