Your rupee is worth even less today, may hit 73 mark; no relief for common man

Every day in recent months, the rupee in the common man's pocket is losing value. Even as his money's value is falling, prices of petrol and diesel are shockingly, rising. The rupee today depreciated to a lifetime low of 72.91 against the dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market, quoting 22 paise lower against the American currency in morning trade amid surging crude oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows, said a report.
 
Escalating trade war concerns, consistent dollar demand from banks and importers, mainly oil refiners, following higher crude oil prices, kept the rupee under pressure, dealers told PTI.
 
On Tuesday, the embattled domestic unit rupee plummeted 24 paise against the US dollar to end at a new record low of 72.69. The reasons cited were rebound in crude oil prices and capital outflows amid intensifying global trade war concerns.
 
The rupee had a positive start and touched a high of 72.25 versus the dollar in early morning deals on Tuesday, but it suddenly collapsed to hit a fresh record low of 72.74. 
 
Notably, the swift RBI intervention led to some recovery. The currency dealers reportedly stated that any policy response other than the RBI's intervention would depend upon the strength of the sell-off in key emerging markets and contagion risk.
 
The rupee is the latest currency to be dragged down by fears that an escalating trade war could hurt global growth and severely affect Asian economies.
 
Further, the spillover from the emerging-market turmoil in the Argentina peso and Turkish lira is largely weighing on Asia currencies, said the report.
 
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Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex today recovered by over 100 points while the NSE Nifty reclaimed the 11,300-mark in opening trade, following fresh purchases made by domestic investors ahead of key macroeconomic data to be released later in the day.