Mumbai: The Indian rupee weakened 28 paise to 85.75 per dollar on Monday due to strong dollar demand by both foreign and domestic banks, even as other Asian currencies strengthened amid a weaker dollar index. The domestic unit had previously closed at 85.47/$1.
The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened by purchasing dollars via state run banks, traders said. The rupee traded in a range of 85.44/$1 to 85.78/$1, LSEG data showed.
Dollar index was trading near its 3-year low at 97.1. “There was dollar buying by nationalised banks, likely on behalf of RBI. Oil companies and importer dollar demand also kept the rupee in a small range,” said Anil Bhansali, head-treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.
Other Asian currencies such as the Taiwan dollar and Korean won have risen about nearly 13% and 8% year-to-date, respectively, while the Chinese yuan-a closely tracked peer of the rupee, is up over 2%, LSEG data showed.
