Rupee falls 1 paisa to 85.92 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee slipped 1 paisa to its record low of 85.92 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, the third straight session of downfall, weighed down by a stronger American currency and higher crude oil prices.
Forex traders said the relentless outflow of foreign funds amid soaring US bond yields boosted the American currency, while subdued domestic equity markets pushed the rupee down further.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at its historic low level of 85.94 and inched up to 85.92 against the greenback in initial deals, trading with a loss of 1 paisa from its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee plunged 17 paise to settle at its all-time low closing level of 85.91 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent lower but stayed elevated at 108.80.
The 10-year US bond yields also remained elevated at 4.66 per cent amid expectations of delayed interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve on better growth prospects of the world's largest economy.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.10 per cent to USD 76.08 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 243.43 points, or 0.31 per cent, lower at 77,905.06 points, while the Nifty was down 72.40 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 23,616.55 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded Rs 3,362.18 crore in the capital markets on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
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CBI books Karti Chidambaram in fresh corruption case
New Delhi, Jan 9: The CBI has registered a fresh case of corruption against former finance minister P Chidambaram's son and Congress MP, Karti Chidambaram, for allegedly giving relief to alcoholic beverage company Diageo Scotland over a ban on the duty-free sale of its whisky, officials said Thursday.
The case pertains to an alleged suspicious payment made to Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd, "an entity controlled" by Karti P Chidambaram and his close aide S Bhaskararaman by Diageo Scotland and Sequoia Capitals, the CBI FIR said.
"Enquiry revealed that out of various proposals of FIPB enquired into, it was found that Diageo Scotland and Sequoia Capitals have suspiciously transferred funds to Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt. Ltd., an entity controlled by Sh. Karti P Chidambaram and his close aide S Bhaskararaman," it said.
The agency alleged that its enquiry has found that Diageo Scotland, UK used to import duty-free Johnnie Walker whisky.
No immediate reaction was available from the suspects named in the FIR.
In April 2005, the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), which had a monopoly over the sale of imported duty-free liquor in India, put an embargo on the sale of the Diageo Group's duty-free products in India, which resulted in a huge loss to Diageo Scotland as 70 per cent of its business in India pertained to the sale of Johnnie Walker whisky, the agency alleged.
The CBI FIR alleged that Diageo Scotland approached Karti Chidambaram, seeking help in lifting the ban and made payments of USD 15,000 to Advantage Strategic Consulting, which took it in the guise of "consultancy fee".
