Rupee plunges to settle at new record low

Mumbai, PTI: The rupee extended its slide for the second straight session. It declined 13 paise to hit a fresh record low of 85.87 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday amid higher crude oil prices and stronger American currency. Lacklustre sentiment in domestic equity markets and sustained outflow of foreign funds also played spoilsport even as investors stayed cautious over lower economic growth projection by the government, forex analysts said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 85.82 and touched the lowest-ever level of 85.89 against the greenback during intra-day.

The unit settled at 85.87 (provisional) against the dollar, 13 paise lower than its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled with a loss of 6 paise at 85.74 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.35 per cent higher at 108.76.

The 10-year US bond yields also remained elevated at 4.67 per cent amid expectations of delayed interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The latest government data released on Tuesday showed India's economic growth rate is estimated to slip to a four-year low of 6.4% in 2024-25 due to poor show by the manufacturing and services sectors.