Rupee tumbles to 12-mth low of 83.28/USD

Mumbai: The Indian rupee plunged to a 12-month low of 83.28 against the US dollar on Monday amid rising oil prices and uncertainty in global markets due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The RBI has been intervening periodically to sell dollars in the market to prevent the rupee from going into a free fall, according to traders. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.13 per cent to 106.51.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.08 per cent to $90.82 per barrel. “The US dollar eased slightly after the US and its allies tried to step in to contain the Hamas-Israel conflict, which has waned some safe haven demand for the greenback. We expect rupee to trade with a slight negative bias as risk aversion in global markets and elevated crude oil prices may keep rupee under pressure.

However, ceasefire or truce talks may support rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day higher by two paise at 83.28 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday. Forex traders said positive macroeconomic data supported the rupee.