By Jaspreet Kalra
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian rupee slipped to its all-time low on Friday as the dollar stood firm ahead of closely watched U.S. labour market data, keeping regional currencies on the defensive.
The rupee weakened to 85.97 against the U.S. dollar, inching past its previous record low of 85.9325 hit on Thursday. The currency ended at 85.9650, down 0.2% on the week and logged its tenth consecutive weekly loss.
The local unit has faced persistent headwinds over recent weeks on the back of a surging dollar and weak capital flows. However, routine interventions by the Reserve Bank of India have helped limit losses.
State-run banks were spotted offering dollars on Friday as well, most likely on behalf of the RBI, three traders told Reuters.
The rupee’s fall below the psychologically important 86 level is likely “sooner rather than later,” a trader at a foreign bank said.
The dollar index held north of the 109-handle, hovering close to a two-year peak ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls data. The data will influence expectations of the pace and depth of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.
“We think the balance of risks is tilted to the upside for the dollar today, as robust jobs figures could prompt markets to price out a March cut and potentially push the first fully-priced move beyond June,” ING Bank said in a note.
Expectations surrounding the incoming U.S. President’s policies and slower rate cuts by the Fed have boosted the dollar and U.S. bond yields over recent weeks. Meanwhile, foreign investors have pulled out over $3 billion from Indian stocks and bonds so far in January.
Both factors have kept the rupee under pressure with gauges that measure the currency’s volatility also ticking higher in the one month since the change of guard at the Reserve Bank of India.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
