Rupee hits a fresh low at 52.19 a dollar
03 Mar 2009
The rupee hit a new low, falling below 52 a dollar in afternoon trade today, extending losses to a seventh day amidst increasing outflows of capital.
The domestic unit slipped to 52.19, before recovering to close at 51.98 against the dollar, still down 4 paise from Monday's close.
The rupee, which resumed flat after closing at a historic low of 51.93/94 a dollar yesterday, was trading at 49.65 against the dollar at 12 noon, up 27 praise from Monday's close.
The domestic unit, which made early gains, later edged lower and was trading at 52.05/06 per dollar, 0.29 per cent weaker than Monday's close of 51.90/92 at around 3:30 pm.
A steep fall in equity markets in the late trade brought dollar buyers back in the market. Also, non-deliverable forward market turned into buying mode. Dealers said there were no dollar sellers in the market and the market was looking forward to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The rupee has fallen 2 per cent so far this week and is down 6.7 per cent so far in 2009. It had fallen more than 19 per cent last year.
With stock markets on the decline, dealers expect the rupee to remain at today's lows.
Foreign investors are estimated to have sold about $1.7 billion worth of shares in the Indian market so far in 2009. Finis had withdrawn over $13 billion in 2008 when the rupee fell 19.1 per cent.
