The rupee today plummeted by a whopping 30 paise to close at an over one—month low of 64.88 against the US dollar due to fresh demand for the American currency from importers.
This is the lowest close for the home currency since May 23, when it had ended at 64.89 against the US dollar.
The implementation of the Goods and and Services Tax (GST) too spelt worries that the new indirect tax regime could bring some renewed upturn in inflation and may impact the economic growth, a forex dealer commented.
A spectacular rally in local equities even failed to arrest the rupee slide even as investors keenly awaited minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, he added.
A firming dollar overseas at the beginning of the week also weighed heavily on forex sentiment.
The GST —— India’s biggest tax reform since Independence —— came into force on July 1.
The home currency, however, scripted its best first— half of a year performance since 2015.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market, the local united resumed substantially lower at 64.65 as compared to weekend close of 64.58 on bouts of dollar demand.
It remained under immense pressure throughout the day and drifted sharply to hit a fresh intra—day low of 64.90 in late afternoon deals before ending at 64.88, showing a steep loss of 30 paise,