The Indian rupee has hit its all-time low and breached Rs 70 to a dollar.

Share Market Live

NSE

Earlier this morning, the rupee recovered from all-time low of 69.91 and strengthened by 23 paise to 69.68 against the US dollar on some macroeconomic boost.

Yesterday, the rupee had plunged by Rs 1.08, or 1.57 percent, to a record low of 69.91 against the US currency amid fears that Turkish currency turmoil could turn out into global financial crisis.Economic affairs secretary Subhash Garg said that the domestic currency was depreciating due to external factors and that there was nothing to worry at this stage as external factors may ease going forward.

In a ray of hope for domestic economy, latest data showed that retail inflation fell to 9-month low of 4.17 per cent in July on declining vegetable prices which may prompt the Reserve Bank to pause interest rate hike in its next monetary policy review.

#BREAKING | RUPEE BREACHES 70/$ FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY pic.twitter.com/je1c9pN9HL

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) August 14, 2018

Khoon Goh, head of Asia Research, ANZ Research, said, “I think for now investors remain cautious and so must we. So with the rupee breaking 70, it’s too soon to be able to say with any confidence that this could be the bottom.”

Talking about the crisis in Turkey, Bimal Jalan, former governor of RBI, said, "We have enough reserves and everything else to be able to manage it ... nothing to worry about.”

“The only thing to caution is that people shouldn’t get into a kneejerk reaction; things like 70, these benchmarks do not mean anything, I mean how is 69.7 and 70 that different," said Pronab Sen, former principal adviser, Planning Commission.

In the last two reviews, the RBI had raised the key repo rate by 0.25 percent each on inflationary concerns. The next bi-monthly policy is to be unveiled on October 5.

Stock markets opening with gains also boosted the domestic currency, dealers said. However, the dollar’s strength against some currencies overseas capped the gains of the domestic unit.

(With PTI inputs)

First Published:Aug 14, 2018 10:39 AM IST