MUMBAI: The Indian rupee on Monday hit a fresh two-year low against the US dollar as foreign investors continued to liquidate their investment in the equity market.
At 9.52am, the home currency was trading at 66.76, down 0.44% from its previous close of 66.47. The local unit opened at 66.58 per US dollar and touched a low of 66.77, a level last seen on 4 September 2013.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in 14 out of 17 sessions. Since 11 August, FIIs have sold equity worth $3.29 billion.
The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.15% or 39 points to 25,162.90 points.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.765% compared with its Friday close of 7.754%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 5.56%, while FIIs have bought $4.09 billion from local equity and $6.35 billion from bond markets.
Most Asian currencies were trading lower. Malaysian ringgit was down 1%, South Korean won 0.77%, Indonesian rupiah 0.51%, Philippines peso 0.32%, Japanese yen 0.29% and Chan renminbi dropped 0.18%. However, China offshore spot was up 0.13%.
