Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday plunged 48 paise, logging its biggest fall in more than five weeks, to close at over one-month low of 61.13 against the greenback following fresh dollar demand from importers and negative cues from local equities.
A strong surge in dollar overseas also kept the rupee under pressure combined with expectations of higher trade deficit data, a forex dealer said. After currency markets closed, government data showed that trade gap in August rose to USD 10.83 billion.
Against a gauge of six major global rivals, the dollar index was up by 0.23 per cent ahead of the two-day policy setting meeting of the US Federal Reserve starting tomorrow. Forex dealers expect early hike in interest rates by Fed after improving economy, which might induce foreign funds to withdraw money from emerging markets, including India.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit resumed lower at 60.92 a dollar from last weekend's close or 60.65 and immediately touched a high of 60.90.
Later, rupee met with strong resistance and dipped to a low of 61.18 before settling at 61.13, a steep fall of 48 paise or 0.79 per cent. Previously, it had tumbled by 65 paise on August 6, 2014. The closing level of 61.13 is its weakest since ending at 61.21 on August 13, 2014.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today plunged 244.48 points, or 0.90 per cent, on weak global cues. FPIs/FIIs had picked up shares worth USD 40.83 million last Friday, Sebi data says. Meanwhile, the inflation measured on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) dipped to 3.74 per cent in August to a nearly five-year low from 5.19 per cent in July and 6.99 per cent in August 2013.
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