Rupee hits record low, slips below 75-mark against US dollar

The rupee on Thursday breached the 75-mark against the US dollar as market participants remained concerned over the sharp rise in coronavirus cases in India and its impact on the economy.

Sustained outflows by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) further weighed on market sentiment. FIIs have offloaded more than Rs 70,000 crore from the domestic capital market in March so far.

The domestic unit depreciated nearly 80 paise to record low of 75.02 per dollar against the previous close of 74.23.


Coronavirus cases in India have crossed 165 as of March 19, according to the Health Ministry. Benchmark equity index BSE Sensex cracked over 2,000 points in the morning trade as global gloom over the Covid-19 pandemic continued to hammer equities.

Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking said, “The Indian rupee has slipped into the red on fears of coronavirus spread in the country. The steep decline in domestic equities further dampened the sentiment. The larger trend continues to be weak for the domestic currency, given the economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak.”

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.73 per cent to $25.31 per barrel. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.22 per cent at 101.37. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.37 per cent in morning trade.