LIV: Rupee falls most in 6 weeks, closes at 65.19 against US dollar
Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Tuesday closed 0.63% lower, its biggest one-day fall since 24 August, against the US dollar, tracking losses in the local equity and Asian currencies markets.
The home currency closed at 65.19, down 0.63% from its previous close of 64.75. The local unit opened at 64.89 per US dollar.
The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.21%, or 57.58 points, to close at 26,846.53.
Most Asian currencies closed lower after weak China trade data. Indonesian rupiah was down 1.69%, Malaysian ringgit 0.92%, Thai baht 0.89%, Taiwan dollar 0.87%, Philippines peso 0.56%, South Korean won 0.49%, while China renminbi and China offshore fell 0.3% each, and Singapore dollar declined 0.2%. However, Japanese yen was up 0.21%.
China’s imports plunged 17.7% in yuan terms in September, widening from a 14.3% decrease in August, in its 11th straight decline. Overseas shipments fell 1.1% in September in yuan terms, the customs administration said on Tuesday, compared with a 6.1% drop in August. The trade surplus was 376.2 billion yuan ($59.4 billion), Bloomberg reported.
Factory output expanded more than it was expected in August as production of consumer durables picked up ahead of the festive season, indicating sustained economic recovery, and retail inflation accelerated in September as the base effect waned, Mint reported on Monday.
In August, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose 6.4%, a three-year high, compared with 4.1% in the previous month. Retail inflation quickened to 4.41% in September from 3.74% a month ago as prices of pulses jumped 30%, the Mint report added.
The government will issue Wholesale Price Inflation Index (WPI) on 14 October after 12pm. According to a Bloomberg poll, WPI will be at -4.42% in September as compared with -4.95% in August.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond closed at 7.562% from its previous close of 7.577%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 3.28%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $3.94 billion from local equity and $7.30 billion from bond markets.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.815, down 0.03% from its previous close of 94.841.
