Rupee crashes 27 paise to hit record low of ₹86.31 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee's slide show went on for the second straight session on Monday as it crashed 27 paise to hit a new lifetime low of ₹86.31 against the US dollar, dragged down by a robust American currency amid volatile global cues.

A record surge in crude oil prices, sustained outflow of foreign capital, and a negative trend in domestic equity markets also kept the Indian currency under pressure, forex traders said.

The dollar, they said, strengthened on better-than-expected job growth in the US market, which also fuelled the benchmark treasury yields amid expectations of a slower interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at ₹86.12 and fell to the historic low level of ₹86.31 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a steep loss of 27 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee declined 18 paise to settle at ₹86.04 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.22% to its over two-year-high level of 109.72. The 10-year US bond yields remained elevated touching its October 2023 level at 4.76%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged 1.44% to USD 80.91 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 550.49 points, or 0.71%, lower at 76,828.42 points, while the Nifty was down 182.45 points, or 0.78%, at 23,249.05 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded ₹2,254.68 crore in the capital markets on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said the country's forex reserves dropped by USD 5.693 billion to USD 634.585 billion in the week ended January 3.

The latest government data released on Friday, however, showed the industrial production (IIP) growth accelerated to a six-month high of 5.2% year-on-year in November 2024, riding on the increased festive demand and pick-up in the manufacturing sector.