The Crossbill News Desk
The Indian rupee continued its downward slide on Tuesday (December 2), briefly breaching the crucial 90-per-dollar mark in intraday trade before closing at a fresh record low of 89.95 (provisional) against the US dollar.
The currency fell 42 paise from its previous close, pressured by persistent importer demand for dollars and sustained short-covering by speculators, news agency PTI reported.
Forex market participants said that a combination of foreign portfolio outflows and uncertainty surrounding the Indo-US trade agreement has kept sentiment weak. The rupee opened at 89.70 at the interbank foreign exchange market and soon slipped to an all-time intraday low of 90.00, marking a 47-paise decline from Monday’s close. The previous session had already seen the rupee soften by eight paise to end at 89.53.
Commenting on the breach of the key psychological threshold, Anindya Banerjee, head commodity and currency at Kotak Securities, said, "The 90 level is a major psychological barrier— and a cluster of buy-stop orders likely sits above it. This is precisely why the RBI must remain active below 90; if the pair starts sustaining above this zone, the market could quickly shift into a higher trending phase toward 91.00 or even higher." She added that it was crucial for the Reserve Bank of India to curb excessive speculative confidence, noting that "at this stage, it is essential for the central bank to prevent speculators from becoming too comfortable with a one-way trend, as that can trigger an unnecessary spike in USD-INR volatility."
The dollar index was marginally higher at 99.41, while Brent crude futures traded 0.25% lower at $63.03 per barrel. From a technical standpoint, Banerjee highlighted key levels, saying support lay in the 88.80–89.00 range, with resistance at 90.00 and the next major hurdle at 91.00.
"A decisive daily close above 90 may embolden momentum traders and invite fresh speculative flows," she said.
Domestic equity markets mirrored the weak sentiment, with the Sensex falling 503.63 points to close at 85,138.27 and the Nifty dropping 143.55 points to 26,032.20. Foreign Institutional Investors remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 1,171.31 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
The currency fell 42 paise from its previous close, pressured by persistent importer demand for dollars and sustained short-covering by speculators, news agency PTI reported.
Forex market participants said that a combination of foreign portfolio outflows and uncertainty surrounding the Indo-US trade agreement has kept sentiment weak. The rupee opened at 89.70 at the interbank foreign exchange market and soon slipped to an all-time intraday low of 90.00, marking a 47-paise decline from Monday’s close. The previous session had already seen the rupee soften by eight paise to end at 89.53.
Commenting on the breach of the key psychological threshold, Anindya Banerjee, head commodity and currency at Kotak Securities, said, "The 90 level is a major psychological barrier— and a cluster of buy-stop orders likely sits above it. This is precisely why the RBI must remain active below 90; if the pair starts sustaining above this zone, the market could quickly shift into a higher trending phase toward 91.00 or even higher." She added that it was crucial for the Reserve Bank of India to curb excessive speculative confidence, noting that "at this stage, it is essential for the central bank to prevent speculators from becoming too comfortable with a one-way trend, as that can trigger an unnecessary spike in USD-INR volatility."
The dollar index was marginally higher at 99.41, while Brent crude futures traded 0.25% lower at $63.03 per barrel. From a technical standpoint, Banerjee highlighted key levels, saying support lay in the 88.80–89.00 range, with resistance at 90.00 and the next major hurdle at 91.00.
"A decisive daily close above 90 may embolden momentum traders and invite fresh speculative flows," she said.
Domestic equity markets mirrored the weak sentiment, with the Sensex falling 503.63 points to close at 85,138.27 and the Nifty dropping 143.55 points to 26,032.20. Foreign Institutional Investors remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 1,171.31 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
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