MUMBAI: The rupee recorded its sharpest single-day fall in nearly three months on Monday, closing at 85.84 against the US dollar, down 60 paise from Friday’s 85.24. The decline followed a selloff in domestic equities and a rebound in the dollar index, which rose 0.3% to 102.9, even as US bond yields dropped on expectations of a Fed rate cut.
The rupee’s weakness came after a brief recovery last week. “China’s retaliatory move to impose tariffs on 355 US products has intensified concerns over a prolonged trade conflict, dampening investor sentiment worldwide,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities. “The heightened uncertainty has triggered risk-off sentiment, leading to outflows from emerging markets, including India, thus weakening the rupee.” The Chinese yuan slipped 0.4% to 7.32, a near four-month low, prompting a broader slide in Asian currencies of up to 1%.
