RUPEE HITS RECORD LOW OF 66.30

Worries about the food subsidy bill dragged the rupee to a fresh lifetime low of 66.30 to the dollar today before closing at 66.24 as the market ignored government assurances on keeping the fiscal deficit in check. The rupee fell amid weak local equities, dollar demand from importers and banks, outflows and rising oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee resumed lower at 65 a dollar from the previous close of 64.30 and remained in negative terrain through the day. It dropped to a record intra-day low of 66.30 before settling a tad better at 66.24, a fall of 194 paise or 3.02 per cent. The rupee had plunged 148 paise on August 19. The previous lifetime low was 65.56 on August 22.
The rupee slipped below the 103- level to touch a new bottom of Rs 103.29 against the British pound today amid sharp plunge in equities and fresh investor concerns over foreign capital outflows.It finally ended the day at Rs 102.8 against the UK currency, a fall of Rs 2.68 from yesterday's close of Rs 100.12 per pound. 

The rupee had first breached the 100 level against pound on August 20 and continued to trade below this level for three consecutive days before regaining some lost ground in the past two sessions (August 23 and August 26). The rupee has depreciated by about 25 per cent in past three months, from close to 83 in mid-May. It was even higher at about 80 against the Pound in March.