Foreign portfolio investment outflows from Indian equities and debt also put pressure on the rupee. However, likely central bank intervention in the form of dollar sales reined in losses for the rupee, traders said.
The rupee closed marginally weaker at 84.0775 one paise lower than the previous close. This was its weakest closing level on record. During the day, the local currency touched its all-time intraday low of 84.0825/$1, LSEG data showed.
On Tuesday, foreign investors sold Rs. 3,978.61 crores, BSE data showed. On a monthly basis in October so far, FIIs have sold $8.8 billion, depository data showed, surpassing the previous peak outflow of $8.35 billion in March 2020
“Despite the highest monthly outflows seen this month of Rs. 72,000 crores after March 2020, the USDINR pair still shows some resilience around 84.08 levels, and there is hardly any move during the day. So there seems to be good absorption of such flows,” said Kunal Sodhani, vice president, treasury, Shinhan Bank India.
The rupee was traded in a tight range of two paisa during the day from 84.06/$1 to 84.08/$1. The Reserve Bank of India likely sold dollars worth $1.5-2 billion, dealers said.