The Indian rupee on Monday fell 20 paise to an all-time low of 78.13 against the US dollar, as market morale was pulled down by a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and a stronger greenback overseas.
Other important causes that brought the local unit down were weak Asian currencies and continued international capital outflows , forex traders said.
The local currency opened at 78.20 against the US dollar on the interbank foreign exchange market, moving with an intraday high of 78.02 and a low of 78.29. The local currency finally finished at 78.13, a new all-time low, down 20 paise from its previous close.
The dollar index, which measures how strong the dollar is versus a basket of six currencies, increased 0.55 percent to 104.71. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude futures, fell 1.58 percent to USD 120.08 a barrel.
The Indian stock markets also heavily plunged. The BSE Sensex fell 1,456.74 points, or 2.68 percent, to 52,846.70, while the broader NSE Nifty down 427.40 points, or 2.64 percent, to 15,774.40. According to stock market data, foreign institutional investors continued their selling binge on Friday, offloading shares worth a net Rs3,973.95 crore.
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