The Indian rupee fell to a record low on Wednesday, breaching the 94-mark against the United States dollar amid the conflict in West Asia.
The rupee had opened at 93.94 in the interbank foreign exchange market. It slumped 29 paise to close at a record low of 94.05 against the US dollar as the outflow of foreign funds continued, PTI reported.
The rupee had dropped 23 paise to close at 93.76 against the US dollar on Tuesday.
Foreign institutional investors have accelerated selling in Indian equities amid the conflict. This has added pressure on the currency. The rupee weakens as global funds pull money out of the Indian market.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth around Rs 8,000 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, PTI quoted the exchange data as saying.
Even a drop in global crude oil prices and positive sentiments in the domestic equity markets could not provide any respite to the local unit, PTI reported.
In the domestic equity market, the benchmark Sensex surged by 1.63% while Nifty was up 1.72% on Wednesday.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 4.33% lower at $99.97 per barrel in futures trade.
Global oil prices have increased by more than 50% since the conflict began. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels since the conflict began. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.
