Powered by: Motilal Oswal
2025-01-06 10:36:12 am | Source: Reuters
Rupee slips to record low but likely RBI intervention caps losses

Follow us Now on Telegram ! Get daily 10 - 12 important updates on Business, Finance and Investment. Join our Telegram Channel

The Indian rupee slipped to an all-time low in early trade on Monday, pressured by broad-based dollar bids while likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) helped limit losses, traders said.

The rupee declined to 85.82 against the U.S. dollar, inching past its previous all-time low of 85.8075 hit in the last week of December. The currency was quoted at 85.81 as of 10:15 a.m. IST.

State-run banks were spotted offering dollars, most likely on behalf of the RBI, traders said.

On multiple occasions over the last 10 days, the RBI has stepped in to curb the rupee's losses around the 85.80 level after the currency's pace of depreciation quickened in December.

"USD/INR has always had episodic sharp depreciation bunched across a few days followed by months of stable movement," analysts at HDFC Bank said in a note.

"Considering change of guard at RBI, we may see creativity in terms of managing stabilisation at the cost of temporary bouts of volatility in the rupee."

The appointment of Sanjay Malhotra as the RBI's governor last month spurred speculation that the central bank may adopt a less aggressive approach to defending the rupee, especially as it is overvalued against currencies of major trading partners.

Asian currencies were trading mixed on Monday while the dollar index was steady at 108.9, hovering close to its highest in two years.

Investors will keep a close eye on the minutes of the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting due to be released on Wednesday followed by the U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.

Both the releases are expected to shape investor expectations on the future path of Fed policy rates.

The dollar will also be influenced by anticipation of policy changes under incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.