Re tanks 58 p vs $ to fresh 3-mth low

Mumbai, February 20 

The rupee today tumbled by 58 paise to end at a fresh three-month low of 64.79 against the US dollar on the back of consistent demand for the greenback from state-run banks and importers.

This is the biggest single day fall for the Indian currency so far this year.

Volatility hit the domestic currency market as overall sentiment turned shaky following heavy offloading in portfolios by foreign investors and global traders in local equities.

Currency traders and speculators remained sceptical about the Fed’s outlook for three additional interest rate increases this year, especially given the extremely benign inflation backdrop in the US, leading to the sudden rupee weakness.

Strong dollar overseas due to rise in Treasury yields and release of the minutes of Federal Reserve’s last monetary policy meeting also weighed on the rupee front.

During the day, the home unit crumbled to as much as 64.86 against the US dollar before aggressive intervention by the RBI through state-owned banks.

In the meantime, foreign investors pulled out so far this month a staggering $1 billion or Rs 6,850 crore from the Indian stock market in the wake of sell-offs globally. — PTI