Rupee ends day at 72.45 per US dollar

Mumbai: Resuming its fall, the rupee dived to a record low on Monday, while the 10-year bond yields climbed to its highest level since November 2014 after India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to a four-quarter high. The weakness in emerging market currencies on fears about an escalation in trade war too weighed in.

The rupee tumbled as much as 1.3 per cent to touch a new low of 72.67 per dollar in intra-day trade before closing the session at 72.45 a dollar, down 0.97 per cent from its previous days close of 71.74 a dollar.  

“The macros have come under the sharp scrutiny of the market, and we have to see how the government and RBI will deal with the dual challenges of the rupee and bonds,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior vice-president and head of research, Centrum Broking. The 10-year bond yields surged 12 basis points to end the day at 8.15 per cent from its previous days close of 8.03 per cent amidst expectation of an interest rate hike by RBI.  

According to him, it has been a major paradox in India since 2014 till 2018. “During 2014-17, the macros were all looking up and enviable but company earnings were lagging. In a reverse now, there is a evidence of a pick up in earnings but macros are now under pressure. We haven’t had a synchronized uptick in both macros and earnings,” he added.