The rupee pierced the 81 to the dollar-mark on Friday in the backdrop of aggressive 75 basis points hike by the US Fed.
Opening about 23 paise weaker at 81.0875 per US dollar vis-a-vis previous close of 80.86, the rupee is currently trading at 81.21.
The rupee declined about 89 paise (or 1.1 per cent) on Thursday over the previous close of 79.7950 per dollar.
Amit Pabari, MD, CR Forex Advisors, said: “While the currency took almost three attempts and 48 trading sessions to cross and sustain above 80 levels, it just took one session to rip off all the stability and jump to 81.00 levels quickly.”
“Historically, whenever a big figure in rupee has been taken out, a move of 2.5 rupees, on an average, has been seen within one month of breakout. Overall, with RBI’s absence, the rupee is going to test new lows in the short-term and we expect the currency to weaken up to 81.80 and 82.00 levels in the near-term,” he added.
“The rupee is facing the heat as the US Fed’s aggressive rate hike decision has added fuel to the fire lit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ordered a partial mobilisation to reinforce his troops in Ukraine,” said the Chief Forex Dealer of a private sector bank.