Rupee hits lifetime low of 73.34 against dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee breached 73 mark against the dollar for the first time ever in opening deals on Wednesday as amidst sharp rise in global crude oil prices resulting in strong demand for the American currency

The partially convertible rupee  dropped 43 paise to hit 73.34 per dollar in early trade against its previous closing of 72.91 Monday. Markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Gandhi Jayanti.

The benchmark 10-year bond yield was up 6 basis points at 8.05 percent.

At opening today, the rupee touched 73.26 and weakened further. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares net worth a net of Rs 1,842 crore Monday, provisional data showed.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex dropped by 137.62 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 36,388.52 in opening trade Wednesday.

The five-pronged strategy announced by the government to increase capital inflow into the country is unlikely to reverse the rupee depreciation, Moody's Investors Service had said last month.

Moody's, however, said that strong macroeconomic fundamentals will keep the credit risks of a weaker currency at bay.

The measures announced by the government on September 14 included removal of single-exposure limit of 20 percent on foreign portfolio investors for corporate bonds, lowering to one year from three years the minimum maturity on manufacturing firms' external commercial borrowings (ECBs) of up to USD 50 million.

With Agency Inputs