23 MAY, 2012, ECONOMICTIMES.COM AND AGENCIES
MUMBAI: The rupee slumped to a new record low of 56 to the dollar on Wednesday weighed down by global risk aversion, with the Reserve Bank of India's intervention earlier in the day seen as too mild to prevent further falls.
At 12:40 pm (0710 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 55.98/99 per dollar, after hitting a new record low at 56, sharply below its Tuesday's close of 55.39/40.
The euro stayed pinned near recent four-month lows while domestic stocks were down more than half a percent.
The Indian currency has been consistently hitting record lows lately. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday said the government was taking steps to arrest the volatility in the foreign exchange market and that the Reserve Bank of India would intervene when necessary.
"The government is taking a series of steps. However, managing rupee is market-related... there is a lot of volatility," he told reporters in New Delhi.
"As and when the RBI will consider it necessary, they will intervene. It depends on the market forces, and market forces are uncertain," Mukherjee added.
The Rupee has been the worst performing among its Asian peers, having lost 22 percent this year.
Global risk aversion is putting pressure on the domestic currency as foreign funds are pulling out money. Besides, a widening current account deficit and concerns of investment in India is also putting pressure on the rupee.
To check the sliding rupee, RBI has taken a slew of policy steps to increase dollar flows, including relaxing interest rates caps on non-resident deposits and asking exporters to convert half of their foreign currency earnings into rupee.
The depreciating rupee is also pulling back the domestic stock markets into the red, offsetting all attempts of a bouncebank by the markets.
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