Mumbai: The rupee slid past 60 a dollar level at 3.01pm despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) trying to prevent the Indian currency from breaching the mark by selling the dollar at 59.98, according to currency dealers.
This is a record low for the local currency.
The Indian central bank was trying to prevent the rupee from breaching 60 a dollar, dealers said, adding that a foreign bank had aided RBI by selling dollars in the market.
The rupee strengthened to 59.93 level after the intervention by the central bank but soon slid to 60.2275 a dollar level after 3pm. Dealers said RBI was intervening at 59.98 and is now absent from the market. However, they are betting the rupee won’t close past 60-level and RBI will bring it back to 59.98-99 a dollar level. The market closes at 5pm.
“RBI was not heavily in the market but intervened at the 59.98 level. We are betting that RBI will not let the rupee close to 60 level, at least today,” said a senior currency dealer at a foreign bank who did not wish to be named.
At 3.05pm, the local currency was trading at 60.25 a dollar level. It opened at 59.72 a dollar.
The rupee’s slide is in sync with other emerging markets currencies after the US Fed said last week they will scale down their bond buy back programme soon.
