Rupee slips to 66.24 a dollar, hits 102.45 against pound

The rupee closed at a new record low of 66.24 against the US dollar and breached past 102 against the British pound on the interbank foreign exchange market today as the Indian currency continued its downslide.

At 66.24, the rupee is down 194 paise or 3.02 per cent from its previous close of 64.30 a dollar.

The rupee had ended down 110 paise or 1.74 per cent at 64.30 against the US dollar after hitting an intra-day low of 64.75 in the previous session.

The rupee has fallen by 304 paise or 4.73 per cent against the dollar in just two sessions, on Monday and Tuesday. It is now down more than 18 per cent against the US currency so far this year.

Against the British pound the rupee hit a new low of 102.45 this afternoon, as the Indian currency ended its two-day recovery amid fresh concerns over foreign capital outflows.

The rupee has depreciated by over 21 per cent against the pound in the past three months, from close to 83 in mid-May. It was at 80 against the pound in March.

Forex dealers said strong demand for the US currency from importers and banks besides the dollar's strength against other currencies in overseas markets weighed on the domestic currency.

Several measures announced by the government and the RBI have failed to check volatility in the rupee amidst weak domestic fundamentals such as record current account deficit and flight of capital.

Measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) like restriction on Indian firms' investing abroad and on outward remittances by resident Indians did not help rein in rupee volatility, rather it triggered fears of a return to capital controls.

The Indian economy is now also under the threat of another downgrade, with global ratings agency Fitch on Monday warned of another downgrade saying that India's fiscal numbers "look weak."