Rupee hits new low of 55.47 against US dollar, RBI still absent

May 22, 2012

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Mumbai, May 22: Continuing its free fall for the fifth day in a row, rupee set a new low of 55.47 before ending at 55.39 against the dollar on relentless demand for the American currency from importers, especially oil refiners, even as foreign fund flows remained muted.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened sharply higher at 54.60 per dollar from its last close of 55.03 on initial surge in stocks.

But soon dollar demand overshadowed the rupee sentiment even as other Asian currencies rose for a second day despite rating agency Fitch downgrading Japan's sovereign rating by one notch to A+ with a negative outlook.

Strong dollar demand from importers pulled rupee down to a low of 55.47. The domestic currency, which has lost over 11 per cent since March this year, today finally closed at 55.39, showing a fall of 0.65 per cent or 36 paise.

Forex dealers said for the second day in a row, there was no RBI role on Tuesday despite rupee touching new lows. They said capital inflows, the major driver behind rupee's appreciation, were absent in view of the global worries.

Data shows FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 283 crore on Tuesday. Indian stocks benchmark Sensex closed 157 points lower.

Moses Harding, head - ALCO and Economic & Market Research, IndusInd Bank said: "While there was genuine demand for dollars from importers, supply is not able to match the demand due to low capital flows."

On Monday, after the currency tumbled by 61 paise or 1.12 per cent, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions of forward contracts by banks and arbitrage trading.

"Rupee also depreciated due to unwinding of positions today. Also, Monday's announcement by RBI has short-term negative impact," said T S Srinivasan, GM (Treasury), Indian Overseas Bank.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi said: "The government is taking a series of steps. However, managing rupee is market-related.... There is a lot of volatility.

"As and when RBI will consider necessary they will intervene. It depends on the market forces and market forces are uncertain," he said.

The dollar index, consisting of six major currencies, was up by nearly 0.4 per cent with investors looking ahead to a European Union leaders' meeting on Wednesday, as the bloc seeks to address the issue of Greece's possible exit from Eurozone.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said, "The ongoing gilts auction and other expected OMOs (open market operations) can help the rupee to recover from its lows but the chances are grim as there has been pressure from global weakness."

Other experts also expect rupee's weakness to continue.

"With the expectation of further weakness, the exporter won't be very keen to sell the dollars in the near term whereas importers and ECB holders, buyers' credit takers, are coming in the market and hedging their short dollar positions," said Abhishek Goenka, CEO, India Forex Advisors.

Moses Harding, Head - ALCO and Economic & Market Research, IndusInd Bank, expects rupee to gain after reaching 57-level.

"Looking forward, over the near-term, we expect the rupee to remain volatile as further sovereign measures can be anticipated but can be absorbed by a negative stream of news flow from the Eurozone," said Anindya Banerjee, senior manager - currency derivatives, Kotak Securities.

The rupee premium for the forward dollar on Tuesday ended steady to better on sustained paying pressure from banks and corporates.

The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in October finished at 156-1/2-158-1/2 paise from Monday's close of 156-158 paise while far-forward contracts maturing in April settled up at 284-286 paise from 280-282 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at 54.8845 and for euro at 70.2093. The rupee declined further to 87.38 against the pound sterling from 87.00 previously and also remained weak against the euro to 70.68 from 70.25. However, it recovered against the Japanese yen to 69.36 per 100 from last close of 69.42.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Jamnagar, Apr 7: A 14-month-old baby boy, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on April 5, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday, said officials.

The toddler, son of a migrant labourer-couple having no recent travel history, died in the evening at a government hospital in Jamnagar, said an official release.

He was in a critical condition ever since he was admitted to the hospital, it said.

The boy, who tested positive for coronavirus two days ago, was as on ventilator support and eventually died due to multiple organ failure, said the release.

He becomes the youngest patient to succumb to COVID-19 in Gujarat, where the death toll has now gone up to 16.

The baby was the first and the only case of coronavirus infection so far in entire Jamnagar district and the youngest to be diagnosed with the disease in Gujarat.

Ever since he tested coronavirus positive, the authorities had been tracing the source of his infection.

His parents are from Uttar Pradesh and work as casual labourers in factories in the port city.

His parents, who have no travel history in the recent past, are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and kept under quarantine, officials said.

The locality where the couple resides in Dared village near Jamnagar city has been put under complete lockdown to check the spread of the virus, they said.

Gujarat has so far recorded 175 coronavirus positive cases and 16 fatalities.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Delhi Police to file status report on a plea by Jamia Coordination Committee member Safoora Zargar, who was arrested under the anti-terror law --UAPA -- seeking bail in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in February.

Zargar, M Phil student of Jamia Millia Islamia University, is more than four months pregnant.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher issued notice to the police and asked it to file a status report on the bail plea.

The high court listed the matter for further hearing on June 22.

Zargar, who was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on April 10, has challenged the June 4 order of the trial court denying her bail in the case.

The trial court, in its order, had said “when you choose to play with embers, you cannot blame the wind to have carried the spark a bit too far and spread the fire.”

It had said that during the course of investigation a larger conspiracy was discernible and if there was prima evidence of conspiracy, acts and statements made by any one of the conspirators, it is admissible against all.

The court had said that even if there was no direct act of violence attributable to the accused (Zargar), she cannot shy away from her liability under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

However, the trial court had asked the concerned jail superintendent to provide adequate medical aid and the assistance to Zargar.

The police had earlier claimed that Zargar allegedly blocked a road near Jaffrabad metro station during the anti-CAA protests and instigated people that led to the riots in the area.

It further claimed that she was allegedly part of the “premediated conspiracy” to incite communal riots in northeast Delhi in February.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and scores injured.

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News Network
May 14,2020

May 14: Customs officials on Wednesday intercepted China-bound consignments of raw material for masks, misdeclared as packing materials for pouches, in large quantities, a senior official said.

It has also seized multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser and 952 PPE kits bound for the US, the UK and the UAE, the official said.

The export of such goods is prohibited by the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"On the basis of specific intelligence, 2,480 kg of raw material for masks was intercepted by air cargo export, Delhi Customs. The goods were misdeclared as packing materials for pouches and were being illegally attempted to be smuggled/ exported to China," he said. 

These goods are prohibited for export as per the latest guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Foreign trade (DGFT), he said, adding that investigation into the case is under progress.

In another catch, the air cargo officers intercepted multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser in 950 bottles and 952 PPE kits at the courier terminal in New Delhi. These were attempted to be smuggled or exported out of the country, the official said.

"These goods are also prohibited for export," he added. 

These items were being illegally exported to the United States, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. "No arrests have been made so far," the official said.

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