The rupee weakened sharply against the US dollar to hit a fresh low as comments by members of the US Federal Reserve strengthened the anticipation of the American central bank continuing to hike rates at a rapid pace.
The expectation of a longer US monetary tightening cycle pushed the US dollar index up to fresh 20-year highs as global funds made their way to the world’s largest economy.
The rupee weakened to a new low of 81.94 per US dollar in opening trades on Wednesday. The domestic currency, which had settled at 81.58 per dollar on Tuesday, has lost 2.4 per cent versus the dollar since the Fed announced a 75-bps rate hike on September 21. So far in 2022, the rupee has depreciated around 9.2 per cent against the greenback.
