Rupee Plunges 38 Paise to 87.33 Against US Dollar; Sharpest Drop in a Month
Rupee recorded its sharpest fall in a month by tumbling 38 paise against the US Dollar.
The Indian rupee tumbled 38 paise to close at 87.33 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, marking its steepest single-day decline in over a month. Forex traders attributed the fall to volatile crude oil prices, global tariff uncertainties, and persistent foreign fund outflows, which overshadowed a weaker US dollar.
The rupee opened at 87.24 in the interbank foreign exchange market and fluctuated sharply, hitting a low of 87.36 and a high of 87.16 during the session. It finally settled at 87.33, down 38 paise from its previous close of 86.95 on Friday, when it had gained 17 paise. The last significant drop of 39 paise occurred on February 5.
Despite a 0.15% dip in the dollar index to 103.65, the rupee failed to find support amid a domestic equity market sell-off. The BSE Sensex fell 217.41 points (0.29%) to 74,115.17, while the Nifty dropped 92.20 points (0.41%) to 22,460.30. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) intensified the pressure, offloading equities worth Rs 2,035.10 crore on Friday, per exchange data.
Globally, Brent crude prices edged up 0.28% to USD 70.56 per barrel, adding to market volatility. India’s forex reserves also declined by USD 1.781 billion to USD 638.698 billion for the week ended February 28, according to RBI data, after rising by USD 4.758 billion the previous week.
Analysts noted that global economic uncertainty, including US President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war and workforce purges, clouded the outlook. US Labour Department data showing increased hiring in February, despite a slight unemployment rise to 4.1%, failed to bolster confidence. Economists warn that persistent outflows and oil price swings could keep the rupee under pressure in the near term.
