PTI
Mumbai, September 23
The rupee depreciated 44 paise and slipped below the 81-mark against the US dollar for the first time in early trade on Friday, weighed down by the strong American currency and risk-off sentiment among investors.
Forex traders said escalation of geopolitical risk in Ukraine and rate hikes by the US Fed and Bank of England in a bid to contain inflation sapped risk appetite.
Further, the strength of the American currency in the overseas market, a negative trend in domestic equities, and risk-off moods amid escalation of geopolitical risk in Ukraine weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 81.08 against the greenback, then fell further to 81.23, registering a fall of 44 paise over its previous closing.
On Thursday, the rupee plunged by 83 paise — its biggest single-day loss in nearly seven months — to close at an all-time low of 80.79 against the US dollar.
The Bank of England hiked its base rate by 50 basis points (bps) to a 14-year high of 2.25 per cent.
The Bank of Japan intervened in the FX market for the first time in 24 years to stem a falling yen after it kept rates at record lows, IFA Global Research Academy said, adding that the Swiss National Bank hiked rates by a record 75 bps to 0.5 per cent.
The US Fed has hiked interest rates by 75 basis points to 3-3.25 per cent.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.05 per cent to 111.41.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.57 per cent to USD 89.94 per barrel.
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