Rupee hits 8-week low of 75.40, tumbles 28 paise against USD

The rupee on Monday plunged by 28 paise to hit its weakest level in eight weeks at 75.40 against the US dollar in line with massive erosion in domestic stocks amid concerns over the new Omicron variant.

Besides, rising crude prices in international markets and a surging greenback overseas also pulled the rupee back.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 75.22 and witnessed an intra-day high of 75.19 and a low of 75.45 against the US dollar in the day trade.

The local unit finally settled at 75.40 a dollar, down 28 paise over its previous close, the lowest closing level for the rupee since October 12.

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

"Rupee depreciated for the third day in a row following a plunge in domestic equities and strong haven demand for the dollar. Investors have trimmed risk exposure ahead of RBI policy decisions, scheduled on December 8,” Dilip Parmar- Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.

Given the way USD/INR has been trading, it could break the multiple highs of 75.68 with higher volatility, he added.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 949.32 points or 1.65 per cent lower at 56,747.14, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 284.45 points or 1.65 per cent to 16,912.25.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 2.43 per cent to USD 71.58 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13 per cent up at 96.23.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,356.17 crore, as per exchange data.