Rupee plummets 84 paise to all-time low of 77.01/USD amid Ukraine crisis
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee tanked 84 paise to close at its lifetime low of 77.01 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as intensifying geopolitical risks due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed investors to safe haven assets.
Forex traders said escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine kept crude oil prices at an elevated level and heightened worries about domestic inflation and wider trade deficits.
Sustained foreign fund outflows and a lacklustre trend in domestic equities also weighed on investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.85 against the American currency but lost ground and settled for the day at a record low of 77.01, down 84 paise from the previous close.
On Friday, the rupee fell by 23 paise to close at 76.17 -- its lowest closing level since December 15, 2021.
"The Indian rupee has plummeted to a lifetime low against the US dollar as the deepening Russia-Ukraine conflict has sapped risk appetite in the market while prompting safe-haven flows into the US dollar," said Sugandha Sachdeva, Vice President - Commodity and Currency Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Besides, the parabolic rise in crude oil prices towards multi-year highs and spiralling commodity prices are fuelling inflationary risks, which is a key headwind for the rupee-dollar exchange rate, Sachdeva added.
According to Sachdeva, the overall trend for the Indian rupee is skewed towards the downside and "a convincing close below the 77 mark would pave the way for further downside towards 77.50 mark in near term, while we envisage the local currency to test the 79 mark from a medium-term perspective."
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.46 per cent higher at 99.09.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 6.55 per cent to USD 125.85 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex ended 1,491.06 points or 2.74 per cent lower at 52,842.75, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 382.20 points or 2.35 per cent to 15,863.15.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 7,631.02 crore, according to stock exchange data.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
