85 breached
The Indian rupee has breached the significant psychological barrier of 85 against the US dollar, marking an all-time low amid a confluence of domestic and global pressures.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold $4.054 billion of American currency in March on a net basis in the spot market, recent RBI data showed.
As per the central bank’s data, RBI in the reporting month had bought $3.984 billion of the US currency and sold $8.038 billion in the spot market.
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In March 2019, India’s federal bank was net buyer of the greenback as it had purchased $9.408 billion. It bought $10.306 billion from the spot market and sold $898 million.
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In previous month, RBI had bought $10.604 billion of the US currency and sold $1.460 billion in the spot market.
In FY19, the apex bank was a net seller of dollars, offloading $15.377 billion in the spot market. It had bought $40.804 billion and sold $56.181 billion in the year to March 2019.
In the forward dollar market, the outstanding sales at the end of March was $4.939 billion, compared to a sale of $2.295 billion in February, the data showed.
Financial markets worldwide are facing intense selling pressures on extreme risk aversion due to the spread of COVID-19 infections, pushing central banks to take such measures.
Indian rupee is down 13 paise compared to the US dollar worth 75.54. At the present level, the rupee is nearly 5.89 per cent down against the US dollar so far this year.
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