Rupee skids 24 paise to close at 73.56 against US dollar
Mumbai, Oct 22: The rupee pared its early gains to settle 24 paise lower at 73.56 against the US dollar Monday due to steady capital outflows and strengthening of the American currency.
The rupee came under pressure following heavy selling in domestic equities and the crude oil breaching the USD 80 per barrel mark on geo-political worries related to killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, again went past the the USD 80-mark to quote USD 80.14 per barrel on Monday, putting pressure on the local unit.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a higher note at 73.36 and gained further ground to hit an intra-day high of 73.19 against the US dollar.
But it failed to hold onto the gains and fell back to settle at the day's low level of 73.56, showing a loss of 24 paise or 0.33 per cent over the previous close.
The rupee had settled at 73.32 against the US dollar Friday.
Unabated capital outflows by foreign funds, and heavy selling in domestic equities dampened the sentiment, dealers said.
The BSE Sensex gave up all its early gains of over 435 points to end 181 points lower at 34,134.38 on Monday.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 618.26 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) had net sold shares worth Rs 2.14 crore on Friday as per provisional data.
The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 73.3025 and for rupee/euro at 84.5730. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 95.9305 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen was 65.02.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
